Terry Ollivander and the Plunderer's Eye
by Howl's Mirror
Summary: All his life, Terry Ollivander had been lonely living atop his father's wand shop. That was, of course, until he recieved his letter from Hogwarts telling him he had been excepted. Post HBP. Don't tell me things aren't possible cause I know.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The Son of Ollivander

You've all heard of Mr Ollivander, the famous wand maker. He has the memory that can remember every wand that he's ever sold and to whom. But, what most people don't know about him is that he was married. Yes, married. About fourteen Years ago, next June. And, from that marriage, Mr Ollivander had two sons. One, he formally named Terrence (Terry for short) Waymous Ollivander. This is his story (hence the title of the story is Terry Ollivander and the Plunderer's Eye, not Mr Ollivander and the Plunderer's Eye).

Terry Ollivander sat at the bay window of his bedroom, which sat over his father's wand shop. He watched the street of Diagon Alley. He watched all the witches and wizards hustle and bustle their way to the different shops. He watched the horizon and a tiny flock of birds that flew out of a tree.

He felt bored. Life on Diagon Alley could be lackluster to those who had spent their entire life there. As a young boy, Terry enjoyed going into all the stores. He enjoyed walking into Quality Quidditch Supplies to see the latest brooms. Occasionally he would find himself in Flourish and Blotts reading up on interesting hexes and curses. Weasley Wizard Wheezes: Jokes of All Kinds was always worth a visit. And Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream parlor always had the most interesting flavors of ice cream like iced pumpkin juice, fairy dust, and liquid honeysuckle. But, after eleven Years, the glamour of living in Diagon Alley soon lost its appeal.

Terry continued to stare out his window and he noticed an owl swooping over the buildings. He cleared a couple of strands of long blonde hair out of his face to see more clearly. He expected it to go into one of the shops. It didn't. Maybe it was just passing through and would move onto another town. It wasn't. Possibly, it was heading for Terry. It was. The owl aimed its head toward the window. Terry unlatched the lock and leapt back as the owl shot into the room and landed on Terry's bed.

Terry had never received mail before, unless you count the letters from his grandmother, so you can imagine how excited he was. At first glance, he could tell it wasn't from his grandmother. The owl was a handsome barn owl and his grandmother owned a tawny. He made his way quickly toward the bird, took the letter, and saw that it was addressed to:

Mr T Ollivander

Front Bedroom

Upstairs

Suite 27

Diagon Alley

The letters on the envelope shone in bright emerald ink. He turned the letter over to see the seal. A lion, a serpent, an eagle, and a badger were all given an equal space surrounding a giant letter "H."

"Hogwarts," muttered Terry under his breath, astonished. He opened the letter. It read:

Hogwarts School

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Harry Potter

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Founder and member of the Defense Academy (D.A.), Chf. Warlock, Ex-Auror, Member of the International Confed. of Wizards

Dear Mr Ollivander

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Hermione Granger-Potter 

Hermione Granger-Potter,

Deputy Headmistress

Terry had never been so happy before in his life. He had heard a lot about Hogwarts from his mother and father and had always wanted to go. Then, it hit him. He would tell his parents (he had better if he actually considered going). Just as Terry was heading to his bedroom door, it swung open. Mr Ollivander had come to talk to him. Terry noticed that his best suit was donned.

"Terry, your mother and I have been called to the Ministry of Magic in London. I need you to watch the shop. Just for an hour or so," said Mr Ollivander in his usual soft voice. His usually poofy hair was sleek where he had tried to tame it, but nothing doing.

"Okay, but you will never guess what happened. I got—" he was cut off. A tiny tinny of a bell rang, magically magnified so the Ollivanders could hear it wherever they were in the shop or house.

"Busy, busy, busy! This day has been hectic! It's the end of summer and the new Hogwarts kids are getting their wands. Terry, this really is urgent. If you could take care of the customer while your mother and I are out, we would really appreciate it. You can tell me the good news when we get back. See you soon!" There was a loud _pop_! and Mr Ollivander was gone. Another shortly followed it, which meant Mrs Ollivander had gone too.

"Hello? Mr Ollivander?" said a voice from downstairs. The voice sounded as though it belonged to a boy in his adolescents.

"_Must be the customer_," thought Terry. He exited his room, went down the hall, down the creaky wooden stairs, and into a stuffy room with shelves piled with thin, narrow boxes upon thin, narrow boxes. At once, Terry spotted two boys. One was a couple inches taller than him with well-kept glossy black hair. He looked very dignified in his round glasses. The other had freckles and the same shiny black hair but wore it more disorganized. Terry was taller than the second boy.

"Yes—um, is your father in at the moment?" asked the taller boy.

"I'm sorry; he's in London at the moment. I'm covering for him. What do you need?" said Terry, standing up straighter to look more official.

"My little brother here, Travis, needs his first wand," said the tall boy. "He'll be starting at Hogwarts next week."

Next week? He was right. September 1st was the following Wednesday.

The smaller boy waved nervously at Terry, obviously scared by the whole process. Terry realized that he would be a classmate with Travis.

"Alright, we'll need to take some measurements." At this, a measuring tape rose in the air off the counter where the old tarnished cash register was and flung itself at Travis. Travis flinched, but the tape stopped inches from him and started to measure him everywhere.

As this continued, Terry walked over to the taller boy and said: "May I see your wand? I need to see the wood and core for a guide line for him," he nodded his head toward Travis who was now having the bridge of his noise being measured and was crossing his eyes trying to see what it was doing.

The taller boy handed him the wand and Terry examined it. He had been taught at a young age to recognize the different woods and cores in the wands. This particular wand was an reed and unicorn hair wand. Around fifteen and a half inches.

Terry looked through the never-ending supply of wands. He found one that might work and opened the box. Willow and unicorn hair. Thirteen inches. It could work. Terry took the wand out of the box and handed it to Travis, who was now holding the limp tape measure. They exchanged their items and Terry tossed the tape back over his shoulder onto the counter. Travis was still holding the wand, but Terry snatched it away and boxed it again. He tried another. This time it was made of ebony and had a phoenix feather core and was ten inches long. Travis held it, but no luck.

The process continued. Each wand was put back in its place and Travis would try another. After what seemed like half an hour, Terry pulled out a hawthorn wand with phoenix feather and thirteen and three quarter inches long. As soon as Travis put the wand in his hand, blue and silver stars blasted from the end. Terry gave a small smile. Travis looked very pleased with himself and grinned from ear to ear. The tall boy applauded loudly.

"Very good. That wand is great for transfiguration. It's also very accurate," Terry told them. The property of wands was yet another lesson his father gave him. "That'll be seven Galleons."

The smiles faded from both the tall boy's and Travis's faces.

"I'm a bit new to the wizarding money, but isn't that a little steep?" Travis asked.

"No, wands are essential at Hogwarts," the taller boy said. He began to rummage in this pocket for some gold coins. "Believe me. And Ollivander's sells them cheap. I've heard that some wand-maker in France sells his wands for ten galleons, so you get your money's worth" He placed the coins on the counter.

Terry picked them up and hit the register with his fist. The register clanged and shot the tray out at Terry and he placed the coins in it and turned to Travis.

"I'll need your wand back. I need to take a record of it for my dad."

Travis reluctantly gave his newfound treasure to Terry and Terry wrote down the proportions of the wand on a browning parchment. Terry placed the wand back in its home, wrapped it brown paper, and handed it back to Travis.

"Come, Travis. We still need to head to the Apothecary. And you need your cauldron," said the taller boy. But Travis had a look of decision on his face.

"Actually, Gary, I was wondering if I could stay here withuh" he was lost for words. Terry had never told them his name. "Oh! Sorry," Terry said apologetically. "My name's Terry. Terry Ollivander." He held out his hand and both Travis and Gary shook it.

"Like I was saying, I was wondering if I could stay with Terry for a while," Travis implored. He turned to Terry. "If you don't mind," he added.

"No. I wouldn't mind." Terry smiled.

"Well, alright. Give me your list. I'll get your school things. I need to drop by Flourish and Blotts. I ripped a page out of my copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_. I'll be back in about half an hour." Gary left the shop and soon was lost in the crowd.

"So, Terry," Travis tried to start conversation, "how old are you?"

"I'm eleven," Terry replied. "I'll be twelve in September."

"Cool. I turned eleven in June. Have you gotten your letter from Hogwarts yet?" Travis asked, still trying to shoot-the-breeze.

"Just this morning. My dad got a call from the Ministry of Magic and had to leave. I haven't gotten a chance to tell him yet."

They continued to chat for another ten minutes. It turned out that Travis had Muggle parents and that Gary was only a Year older than the two of them, which surprised Terry who thought the older of the two seemed to have the maturity of at least a fifteen-Year-old.

"Yeah, Gary's always been—how can I put this politely—ambitious. Always got the top grades, he did."

Terry was going to tell Travis that he was an only child but there were two more loud _pops_! Mr and Mrs Ollivander were standing by the doorway. Mr Ollivander had a large cardboard box in his hands.

"Ah, Terry! Look. My new order of wood! The Ministry thought it looked suspicious and intercepted it. I had to go pick it up." Mr Ollivander then noticed Travis. "And who's this?"

"Oh, this is Travis Norron. He was the customer that came when you left. He and I will be going to school together."

Mr Ollivander glanced at Travis, who waved, but then looked back to Terry. "What do you mean 'school?'" He asked.

Terry forgot. He hadn't shown the letter to his father yet. He told his parents to hold tight and started up the stairs but was delayed.

"Can I come with you?" piped up Travis, but looked embarrassed. "I've never seen a real wizard's room before."

Terry agreed and the new friends darted up the stairs. They entered Terry's all-too-familiar bedroom. Travis looked astonished. All that was in the square room was an old wooden writing desk on the right wall, a bed with an old homemade quilt (and a live handsome barn owl) spread over it on the left wall, a large bay window on the far wall, and on the wall closest to them was a rusty wardrobe. Terry thought it was rather plain, but Travis thought it was wonderful.

"I left the letter on the desk," said Terry. And sure enough, the green lettered envelope sat opened on the desk. He snatched it up and both he and Travis made their way back downstairs.

On the way down, they began to chat again.

"I see where you get your blonde hair. Your mother has blonde hair too," Travis stated.

It was true. Terry did in fact favor his mother in appearances, but he took on his father's mind and intellect. Terry's mother was in Hufflepuff when she was in school and his father was in Ravenclaw. It was anyone's guess which house Terry was going to be in.

"What house is your brother in?" Terry asked.

"Crowtalon. Er — or something. It has an eagle as a mascot like thing"

"You mean Ravenclaw?" Terry corrected.

"That's the one!"

They had finally made it to the last step and Terry handed the letter to Mr Ollivander.

"Gloria!" said Mr Ollivander, breathlessly. "It's Hogwarts!"

Mrs Ollivander strode over to Mr Ollivander, who was now reading the letter in an undertone. He read the last few words, and put his hand on his forehead. He looked tired.

"Oh! What a day!" he said exasperated. "This will take forever!"

"What? What's the matter, dad?" asked Terry. Travis looked puzzled too.

"It is by nature that the Ollivanders are hard wand shoppers," Mr Ollivander told them. "That's why I started making them myself. When I got my first wand, it took hours. I saw all the different woods and shapes and cores; I became fascinated. I would look up how to make wands, famous wand-makers, what types of wands famous Aurors and other celebrities had.

"But now, it's time for you to get your first wand. I say first but I hope it's your first and _only_." Terry knew all too well that Mr Ollivander was temperamental when it came to having his beautiful works of art snapped in half by a Ministry official or some wild, raucous tree.

Just then, Gary came back in, holding a large gray cauldron stacked to the brim with assorted magical objects.

"Ready to go, Travis?" he asked from behind the mess.

"Yeah, I guess so." Travis said. "See you at Hogwarts! Good luck with the whole wand thing!" Travis left with Gary hot on his trail.

"Well, let's get started!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Ollivander's Toughest Customer

Gloria, what type of wand do you have?" Mr Ollivander asked while getting the tape measure going again. He began to look through the endless supply of boxes.

"Mahogany and veela hair. Fifteen inches," said Mrs Ollivander.

"Mine's a cedar and phoenix feather. Around Thirteen inches. So, let's try this." He picked out a box.

The process did take about an hour. Wand after wand after wand was given to Terry and wand after wand after wand was taken away from him. This was his father's job.

His mother wrote back to Hogwarts to tell them Terry would be attending and then went to grab some of Terry's school stuff. As she bought things, she drew a line through it on Terry's supply list. After about an hour of searching for wands, and his mother shopping an checking off items as she bought them, Terry's supply list looked like this:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

uniform

First Year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

1.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

2.One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

course books

All students should have a copy of each of the following

_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

by Miranda Goshawk

_A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot

_Magical Theory_ by Adalbert Waffling

_A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration_ Emeric Switch

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

by Phyllida Spore

_Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

by Newt Scamander

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

by Quentin Trimble

other equipment

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size two)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

"Try this, Terry," said Mr Ollivander, handing him another wand. Nothing happened. Terry was soon tired of the "whole wand thing" as Travis put it. He liked looking at all the different wand combinations, but soon they all looked like long strips of wood.

"Or maybe this will work," said his father. It didn't. So they tried another. Then one more. The next one didn't work either. And neither did the one that followed or even the one after that.

"Good gracious, Terry! You've just about gone through the entire store!" said his father, with a look of half amusement and half perplexity on his face. "Give this a chance." He held out another wand. Terry took it in his hand and suddenly felt warmth in his fingers. The same blue and silver sparks that had sprouted from Travis's wand issued from Terry's. Every one in the room looked pleased (especially Mr Ollivander who sat heavily in a little spindly chair).

"I never thought it would end," he said, massaging the back of his neck. "Terry, you were in fact the toughest customer I've ever had to sell a wand to. Vine wood and phoenix feather. Fifteen inches. Excellent in charms and defensive spells. You have a very well rounded wand. Consider yourself lucky."

"Very good, Terry!" said his mother who embraced him tightly from behind. "I spoke to Madam Malkin. She can't just sell me a robe. You need to go in personally and get measured. You head off and do that, Terry."

"Alright. I'll take my wand with me. I really like having it." He picked up his wand and went out the door into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley. He looked left and right at all the witches and wizards doing their shopping. He had to live in Muggle clothes because he had yet to get his school robes and had nothing to wear otherwise. So, he loved looking at all the different garments grown wizards and witches wore. They came in all sorts of colors, shapes, lengths, and different large pieces of jewelry to top it all off nicely.

He looked to the left of him. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was eight doors down, just between him and the back entrance to the Lucky Cauldron. He headed for it and saw other children around his age in long black robes and looking at all the interesting items in the different shops.

Terry had to weave his way though the mobs of people to get to the robe shop. Twice he bumped into things (one of them a person), had his feet stepped on, and once almost tripped over an old witch's cane. He finally got to the door virtually unharmed (but a bit shaken) and opened it.

Madam Malkin was there looking through Witch Weekly magazine. She was squat and wearing purple. Her hair had streaks of gray to show her old age.

"Hello, Madam Malkin," said Terry casually, closing the door behind him.

Madam Malkin looked up. "Oh, Terry, dear. I've been expecting you." She put her magazine down. "Your mother told me about you getting into Hogwarts. Well done. One of the finest schools in Britain, it is." She smiled warmly.

"Well, let's get you measured," she said. She led him to the back of the shop, made him stand on a foot stool, and slipped a long black robe over his head.

"Today's been busy. It's the end of summer," said Madam Malkin through a mouth full of pins. "In all the forty Years I've been working here, I have never had it this crowded. It looks like you'll have a lot of classmates at school." She began to hem up the bottom of the robe.

The two of them chatted. Madam Malkin did most of the talking. She told Terry of her days at Hogwarts. She told him she was in Hufflepuff. And that she met her husband at Hogwarts. She was going to tell him about O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s but she had finished with the sleeves and was done with the entire robe. Leaving Terry at the stool, Madam Malkin went and retrieved a black pointed hat. She also used a Coupling Charm to make three exact copies to the robe she had just made, used another charm to thicken the fabric on one, and attached some silver fastenings to it.

"Thanks, Madam Malkin," said Terry. He reached in his pocket to pay her. He felt nothing. No gold or silver or bronze. "Uh—this is embarrassing. I don't have any money with me. I spent the last of my allowance at Weasley Wizard Wheezes."

"Not to worry, dear. Your mother prepaid. You're free to go."

Terry left the store with a wave "good-bye" to Madam Malkin, who in turn blew him a kiss, and Terry headed back for the tiny wand shop. He was much happier than he had been this morning. Earlier, the air reeked of melancholy. But now, Terry had a grin on his face, robes under his arm and a bounce in his step.

It was beginning to get dark. The sky was no longer the pale blue it used to be. It was now a large open sky of orange, rose, and mauve. As he walked back to the wand shop he thought, "_I think I'm going to like Hogwarts_."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

Off to Hogwarts

The following days at Diagon Alley were fun and enjoyable for Terry. He looked through his spell books (he left the potions, Herbology, history, creature, and theory books untouched) and tried performing some of the charms and spells. He had some luck with Levitating Charms. He managed to get a pencil to lift three inches in the air before it would drop with a clack. He had no luck with transfiguration spells (his pencil grew a tail and tried to stab him repeatedly).

Terry's acceptance to Hogwarts even lightened his parents' moods. Any customer that said they would soon be attending Hogwarts would be bombarded with Terry's parents' happiness.

"Oh, yes! We're _very _proud of our Terry," was so far his mother's favorite thing to say. While his father favored "My good ol' son is finally off to school. His mother and I were thinking about writing Quik-Spell if he didn't get his letter soon!" No matter what his parents said, it embarrassed Terry.

On August 30th, while Terry was packing his books and other equipment, his father lightly knocked on Terry's already open door.

"Your mother and I have been thinking and we realized that this will be your first birthday away from home." Terry hadn't thought of that. His first birthday at Hogwarts. "We decided to get you something special before you left, but we couldn't think of anything. So, we're just going to give you some money and you can buy your own present. We suggest a racing broom."

"But dad," Terry began, "you said that you can't own a broom at Hogwarts."

Mr Ollivander smiled. "That was before this." He held out a letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Dear Parents or Legal Guardians,

In the past, Hogwarts School has not permitted first Year students to own their broomsticks. But, due to complaints from the students, we the staff have decided to overlook this rule for the subsequent terms. The rule was put into effect just to protect those students who could be seriously injured in the acts that are associated with the popular wizarding sport, Quidditch.

If you feel that your child is capable of playing Quidditch please sign the permission form enclosed with this letter. We assure you that students will not even touch a broom (with the exception of flying class) unless they have written permission from a legal guardian.

Your children are still eligible to play Quidditch even if they don't own their own brooms. They will just borrow the school's brooms. Our flying teacher, Madam Braile Soan, has taken the liberty to buy new school brooms. She has gotten an old but reliable model (Nimbus Two Thousand). We hope the majority of the new students can get out on the Quidditch pitch as soon as possible. We will expect your permission slip to get to us by owl very soon.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Harry Potter

Headmaster

Terry looked inside his envelope on his desk and indeed there was a tiny slip of parchment with a line for a signature. He took the form over to his father.

"Would you sign it?" he asked, hopefully.

"I would be glad to," said his father. Mr Ollivander took the form from Terry, went to Terry's desk, used Terry's ink and quill, and wrote his loopy signature on the parchment.

"There you go!" He handed it back to Terry who beamed.

"I hear that Zephryn Twenty-Sevens are very good brooms," said Mr Ollivander with a huge smile that almost consumed his face.

"Thanks, dad," said Terry.

His father exited the room and Terry followed. They went down the stairs in gleeful silence and separated at the bottom of the stairs. Mr Ollivander went to the back room to get started on the new shipment of wand wood he received while Terry headed for the door.

Terry stepped out into the blinding morning sun and he had to put his hand to his forehead for shade. He made a left and headed down Diagon Alley. He glanced far down Diagon Alley and saw Quality Quidditch Supplies. But, for some odd reason, he didn't want a broom. No. What he really wanted was a friend (I think that was the corniest sentence I have ever written, but I digress). His life at Diagon Alley had been boring and uneventful. He looked four doors down at the Magical Menagerie. There were lots of friends there (I changed my mind. _That_ was the corniest sentence I have ever written).

When he opened the door, a tiny bell _jangled_. He looked around. To his immediate right was an owl with a tiny sombrero on doing the Macarena. There was a dog that would _ribbit _from time to time to his left. He approached the counter and rang a bell on it.

A tall man dressed in mauve robes came out of the back room holding what looked like a small bundle of gray blankets.

"Ah, Midder. You're not doing so well," the man said. He placed the bundle on the cash register. The bundle then stared at Terry with green-yellow eyes with slits for pupils. Terry then realized it was a gray long-haired cat.

"Can I help you?" asked the store manager.

"Yes, um, I'm here to get a pet," Terry told the store owner.

"Ah, yes! Well, we have a lovely stock of crups! Would you like one of those?"

"What are crups?" Terry now wished he had looked at his copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_.

"They are dogs that resemble Jack Russel Terriers. The only hitch is they have a forked tail." After the word "forked" Terry shook his head.

"No? Or, how about a flobberworm?"

Terry knew what these were. A long brown worm. It sounded terribly uneventful. He shook his head again. The owner offered just about the entire store. He went through the horklumps (mushroom like things), a jobberknoll (a mute bird that only sings when it dies), and even offered Terry a gnome. Terry (of course) turned these all down. It seemed like he went through the entire store.

"Well, the only thing I have left is a knarl," said the owner, patting a hedgehog like thing gingerly with bruised and bandaged fingers, "but you don't want that. They are too defensive. I had one that almost tried to kill me because I squeezed it too tightly."

The cat on the register stared at the knarl with great interest. Then, it spotted Terry. The cat hopped down off her home and started to try to get Terry to pet her.

Then, it struck Terry.

"Is this cat for sale?" he asked.

"You don't want this cat," the owner told him. "It has no magical ability what so ever. I've been trying to teach it to play a little miniature piano, but no luck."

"I like it. I don't care about its magical capabilities. How much?"

"Well, she's just an ordinary cat," the owner said, frowning. His frown then turned into a smile. "But, if you really want her, I'll give her to you. How do three Galleons and two Sickles sound to you?"

"It sounds perfect!" Terry fished in his pocket and drew out three gold Galleons and two silver Sickles. The cat leapt into his arms and began to purr loudly.

"Her name is Midnight; Midder for short," said the store owner. "Food isn't really an issue. She can hunt for herself, but will be more than willing to have table scraps, but don't give her too many."

Terry thanked the store owner and headed home, petting Midnight all the way.

"Wake up Terry!" a voice said from downstairs. Terry opened his eyes slowly and looked outside. It was the crack of dawn. The sky was still an orangey-purple with baby blue fluffs for clouds.

Terry moaned. He hated getting up early.

"If you don't want to miss the train, get down here!"

Train? What train? Then he remembered. The train to school. The train to Hogwarts.

Terry lifted Midnight off his bed and set her on the floor. He quickly got dressed (in his Muggle clothes like his mother told him) and headed downstairs, Midnight in his wake.

His mother and father were in the back room, which had a little kitchen, cooking breakfast.

His father was reading the Daily Prophet with a dazed look in his eyes. This told Terry that he was not quite yet all the way awake.

He plopped down in a chair and Midnight jumped up onto his lap.

Terry's looked at his father. He obviously didn't know how Muggles dressed. He was wearing a polka-dotted button down shirt with a striped sports-coat on top of it. His pants were an ugly shade of green and he wore a plaid neck-tie. His mother, however, wore a blue blouse and a black skirt. Terry had seen Muggles on occasion. Sometimes, kids from non-magical families would bring their parents to Diagon Alley.

"Finally, you're awake," said his mother when she noticed him. "I thought I was going to yell myself hoarse if you didn't get up soon. Eat up." She put some eggs and two strips of bacon on Terry's plate. "We have to get to Kings Cross at by latest ten o'clock. It's a long walk."

"We're walking!" said Terry in surprise. "But, why can't we use Floo powder?"

"We're out," said his father, putting down the _Daily Prophet_ and taking a bite out of his bacon. "We already called Mr Milkswurth. He's out too. And Magic from A to Z is out of stock. And you don't have a broom and can't Apparate."

"So, we're walking."

"Fine!" said an irritated Terry.

Mr Ollivander pulled out his wand and said "_Incarcerus Tangibilus_!" A tiny cage appeared. "Put Midnight in here. We can't have a cat running loose in London."

Terry did as he was told. Midnight gave a tremendous fight. Mrs Ollivander had to use an Immobile Charm on her, assuring Terry it wasn't permanent.

They set out around eight. Mr Ollivander used a spell to lighten the load and carried it, pretending to struggle with it.

The arrived at King's Cross around nine forty-five. They got a trolley and put Terry's trunk and Midnight's cage on it.

"We're nice and early," said his mother, looking at her wristwatch. "You can get a good seat, Terry."

They moved across the busy station to platform nine. They found the barrier between the two platforms.

Terry's parents showed him how easy it was. His mother went first. She leaned casually on the barrier until a group of Muggles walked by. By time they had passed through, Mrs Ollivander was gone.

"Okay, Terry. You next," said his father.

Terry approached the barrier and was just about to pass through, when a girl with a pointed face and white-blonde hair came and shoved him out of the way and passed herself.

"Out of my way!" she said as she passed through.

Terry sat there, rooted to the spot, dumbstruck. His father saw he hadn't passed through and rushed over.

"What happened?" he asked. He had a look of concern on his face.

"Some girl came and pushed me out of the way," Terry told his father.

"What did she look like?"

Terry tried to recall. "She had blue eyes—" What else? "And a kind of pointed face. And blonde hair. That's all I remember."

"Malfoy" said Mr Ollivander through clenched teeth. "That was the daughter of Draco and Pansy Malfoy. The both of them were in Slytherin." He pointed at two people. The man was tall and had blonde hair while the woman had a pug like face with black hair. "Draco Malfoy's father, Lucious Mafoy, was imprisoned for being a Death Eater."

Terry looked confused.

"What's a Death Eater?" asked Terry.

"That's right," said Mr Ollivander, enlightenment glowing in his face, "they were before your time. Well, about forty Years ago, there was a dark wizard by the name of," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "Voldemort. He and his supporters killed thousands upon thousands of people. It was horrible.

"He was temporarily put out of power for about thirteen Years, but was brought back to power by his most faithful servants. Then, three Years later, he was permanently vanquished."

"Who got rid of him?" asked Terry, very interested.

"A man by the name of Harry Potter."

Harry Potter. Terry knew that name. Then he remembered what his letter said:

Headmaster: Harry Potter

"He's the headmaster of Hogwarts!" announced Terry, a little too loudly. People stared at him.

"So he is. So he is," said his father. "You know, I sold him his wand. Seems only yesterday..." Mr Ollivander closed his eyes. "Hollyphoenix feathereleven inchespowerful wand. It was the brother of the wand of Voldemort." He looked back at his wristwatch. "Goodness, Terry! You're going to be late. Just go through the barrier. No one's looking."

Terry grabbed the trolley and wheeled it toward the platform. He ran at it. Just when he was about to hit the barrier, platform nine and three-quarters appeared in front of him.

A scarlet red steam engine sat on the tracks. Students young and old were crowded the station. Parents and grandparents hugged and kissed their children and waved to them as they boarded the magnificent train, the Hogwarts Express.

Terry continued to wheel his trolley to where a conductor was loading luggage onto the train. He seemed to be struggling with it. Terry put his trunk in the pile, and felt sorry for him after the conductor saw the luggage and almost had a fit.

Another conductor rushed out of one of the cars. He noticed the other conductor and strode over to him.

"Are you a wizard, or not?" said the new conductor. He took out his wand and said "_Locomotor luggage!_" He conducted the luggage into the train. The other conductor looked embarrassed and started rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Still holding Midnight's cage, Terry found his mother who had been joined by Terry's father.

"All ready to go?" asked his father.

"Yep, I think so," Terry replied. He looked back at the train.

"One minute! One minute 'til departure!" yelled the conductor.

"Better get on the train," said his mother. "You don't want to miss it."

Terry hugged them both and his mother gave him an extra kiss on the cheek.

"If you forget something, write us. We'll send it."

Terry got onto the train. He went past a window, saw his parents again, and waved. He then carried Midnight's cage and moved along the train trying to find a good compartment. The train gave a sudden lurch and Terry knew they had left the station.

He traveled further along the cars. He stopped at the very last one close to back of the train and recognized the freckles and black hair.

Terry opened the door.

"Travis!" said Terry, excitedly.

"Terry! I hoped we would run into each other." Travis smiled. "Come in. Gary's down two compartments with his friends."

Terry sat down and set the cage next to him. He opened the cage and let Midnight (who had finally unfrozen) out of her prison.

"Gary promised he would sit with me," Travis started, "but he saw," he changed his voice to a cruel imitation of Gary, "_Naria Webster_ and was off." He chuckled. "So who's that?" Midnight had started to swat at a fly on the window sill.

"That's Midnight. I got her for my birthday." She leapt head-on into the window and bounced off, landing on her back. She shook it off and sat in Terry's lap. "She's the weirdest cat I've ever seen." Midnight looked up at him, bliss (and oblivious to fact she was just called weird) written on her face.

The trip rolled on. Terry and Travis spoke a lot about their interests. Each had never heard of what the other was talking about. Travis had never heard of Quidditch (but his parents signed the form anyway) and Terry had never heard of baseball.

Halfway along, a short gray-haired witch pushing a cart of sweets came by. Terry bought all of his favorites. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Weasley Wizards Wheezes Skiving Snack Boxes, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bestman's Animal Toffees, Pepper Imps (which he bought only to watch Travis eat), Fizzing Wizbees, and a large supply of Chocolate frogs.

"Here," said Terry, tossing a Chocolate Frog at Travis, "try one."

Travis opened the pentagonal package and got the shock of his life when a Chocolate Frog leapt out at him. It fell with a thud and remained motionless. Both Terry and Travis laughed long and hard. Then, Travis looked down at his packaging.

"What is this?" he asked. He pulled out a card.

"Oh, each pack of Chocolate Frogs comes with a Famous Witch or Wizard Card," explained Terry. "Who'd you get?"

"Dymphna Furmage. It says she was abducted by pixies. Do pixies really do that?" Travis looked worried.

"Yeah. But that's the only known case of abduction. But, they're mainly just pests," said Terry casually.

They started on their other sweets. They got laughs out of Bestman's Animal Toffees; candies which make you imitate animals. They took turns getting gravely ill with the Weasley Wizards Wheezes Skiving Snack Boxes. Terry nearly died laughing when Travis had a whack at the Pepper Imps. But Terry laughed the most when he tricked Travis into eating a vomit flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through out the train. "We will be arriving in ten minutes. Please change into your robes."

Terry frowned. His robes were in his trunk. How could he retrieve them now?

"Travis! I forgot my robes in my truck. I think I need to go see the conductor. Be back later." Terry left the compartment.

He traveled down the corridor and passed through seven cars when he finally found a conductor.

The conductor was already helping a girl. She had curly blonde hair with four large ringlets in the front. Her face was rosy and freckled. She looked like she had been in the sun. Her dress was made of light yellow fabric with sunflowers printed on it. To top it all off, she wore a large sunhat.

"Please, sir," she began. Terry didn't recognize the accent. It sounded like a Southern American accent, but he couldn't be sure.

"Yes, little girl?" replied the conductor.

"I left my robes in my trunk which I had put on the luggage compartment," the girl told him. "Is there anyway to get them back?"

"Did the same thing happen to you, kid?" the conductor asked Terry.

Terry nodded.

"Not to worry. This happens every Year. Before we depart we put a little charm on the luggage to spit out robes. Only two came out, so I hope they're yours." He went into a tiny little coat closet and pulled out two long black robes, one longer than the other.

"The one on the left is mine," said the girl, pointing to the shorter one.

The conductor handed it back to the girl. Then he said, "So this must be yours." He handed the other robe to Terry. "Now get along. We'll be there shortly."

The girl and Terry walked down the corridor quietly. Eventually, they stopped at a compartment.

"This is my compartment," said the girl. "I best be off."

"Alright," was all that Terry said.

"My name's Alia Clavereaux. And yours?" She held out her dainty hand. Terry took it.

"Mine's Terry. Terry Ollivander." They shook. "Tell me, I didn't recognize your accent. Where are you from?"

"Georgia. You know, in America. My parents went to Hogwarts and wanted me to go Hogwarts too so, we moved back to London." She smiled.

"I had a feeling. Anyway, better get going," said Terry. "See you at school!"

They waved silently and Terry moved on down the corridor. He found his lone compartment at the end where Travis had already changed into his robes.

"What took you?" asked Travis when Terry finally got back.

"I met someone." He closed the sliding door behind him. He told Travis all about meeting Alia as he changed into his robes.

"Cool. So there's a Southerner here at Hogwarts. You get a funny crowd here."

Terry didn't care, funny crowd or not. If he was not mistaken, he had just made his third friend (if you count Midnight). Terry had a feeling that school was going to be better than he had ever hoped"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Where Terry Was Put

As the train slowed down and halted in the station, an excited buzz ran through out the train. New students where sitting on pins and needles (literally if you count a boy sitting in the compartment next to Terry and Travis who had been tricked by his friend) and the older students where excited to be getting back.

When the train finally reached the station, the doors slid open and students piled out. Travis and Terry had their feet stepped on a lot and stepped on their own fair share of feet.

They finally made it off the train. They hopped down and landed on the ground with a thud.

They looked around. The train station was set at the edge of a tiny little village, Terry knew at once was Hogsmeade. All the other students looked pleased. Some were looking for their cronies while others had already found them and were talking loudly.

Terry continued to look around. He saw familiar blonde curls and noticed that Alia Clavereaux had just gotten off the train. She looked lonely. Terry realized that since she had just moved here, she hadn't made any friends yet.

"C'mon! I want you to meet that girl," said Terry to Travis. Terry led him to where Alia stood. He gently tapped her shoulder. She looked up.

"Hi!" she said excitedly.

"I wanted to introduce my friend. This is Travis Norron. Travis, this is Alia Clavereaux." Travis smiled and Alia did a tiny curtsy. "So, what house were your parents in?" Terry asked her, trying to make conversation.

"My father was in Gryffindor and my mother was in Hufflepuff. You?" she asked.

"Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Your family has an interesting combination of the houses. I wonder what you'll be in."

Alia turned on Travis. "How 'bout you?"

Travis fidgeted. "Mih-pernts-er-uggles." He mumbled.

"Sorry," said Alia politely, "didn't catch that."

Travis took a deep breath. "My parents are Muggles."

"Oh, honey," said Alia. Travis was taken aback by being called "honey", "you shouldn't be ashamed of that."

"I'm not, it's just—that I—well, never mind. So," he tried to switch subjects, "you're from Georgia? What's that like?"

"Hot," Alia replied. "In the summer it's boiling hot. It gets quite pleasant in the winter."

Terry was going to tell her about the weather in England but there was a voice from behind.

"First Years! If you would line up over here, thanks! That will do!"

Terry, Travis, and Alia turned to see a man with brown, dirty clothes on. He was unshaven and was balding.

"Who's that?" asked Alia.

"I think that's the grounds keeper, Monty Crombe," said Travis, "My brother told me about him. He's supposed to be nice, but strict. Doesn't like kids out of bed at night. He lives in a tiny hut by the Forbidden Forest."

They lined up behind some giggling girls while Mr Crombe counted.

"Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, and forty! We're set! If you will all follow me."

The tiny scared first Years walked nervously behind him. They walked for about fifteen minutes until they came to the edge of a large black lake. The shore was lined with about ten boats.

The three of them hopped into one boat with a boy with a long pointed nose, freckles, and red hair.

Once everyone got into his or her boat, the tiny fleet set off. They rode across the inky water.

"If you look up," they heard Mr Crombe's voice say, "you can see the castle."

At once, like it was involuntary, forty heads inclined upwards. They saw the tall turrets and towers. They saw the windows with tiny golden glows. They saw where they would be living for the next nine months.

A scraping noise told them the bottoms of the boats had landed on the gravely sand of the shore.

"Please, follow me again!" Mr Crombe shouted.

Once again, the first Years followed suit. He led them to a winding stair case. Left, left, right, left, right, right, right, left, right. The stairs were a vast maze of corridors in itself (but there was no way to get lost since there were no forks in the path).

Eventually, they came to great oak doors. Mr Crombe knocked three times. The door swung open.

A woman with brown hair pulled back into a bushy pony-tail was standing there, looking out onto the new students.

"You certainly got here quick, Monty," she said, her voice was a nice, cheery one.

"'Didn't take the underground harbor. I thought going up the steps from the boat house would be quicker. It was."

The woman smiled. "I shall inform Harry. Thank you. You may go in. I need to give the students a speech." Mr Crombe went through the door. "Say hello to Professor Ferrotte! She's just arrived," she called after him. The door shut.

"Now," her voice changed. It had a more important tone to it, "I am most pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts. I am your charms teacher, Professor Granger-Potter, Head of Gryffindor house and Deputy Headmistress. But do call me Professor Granger, it's easier.

"Now, as some of you may already know, Hogwarts was founded by the four greatest wizards and witches at that time. They were Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They each gave their names to the four Hogwarts houses.

"Whilst you are here, you will consider your house your family. You will attend classes with your house. If you excel, you will gain house points. If you break the rules, you will lose points. The house with the most points at the end of the Year will win the house cup. Hufflepuff won last Year. Any questions?"

All was silent. One student raised his hand.

"Yes, Mister" said Professor Granger.

"Mr Renfield. Logan Renfield. You said that your full name was 'Granger-Potter'. Isn't the headmaster's name Potter?" asked a tiny brown haired kid.

"Yes," Professor Granger replied.

"Doesn't get confusing having two Potters around?"

Professor Granger laughed. "The headmaster is my husband. I got the Potter from him. I taught here before we were married and students had already known me by Granger so I stuck with it."

Logan looked embarrassed.

"Any other questions?" There was no reply. "Alright! I'll see if their ready for you." She left in the oak doors behind her.

"My brother wouldn't tell me how you get chosen for the houses," said Travis, stirring up conversation again.

"Do you think we take some sort of test?" inquired Alia.

"Maybe we have to just tell the headmaster or someone our personality traits and have them evaluated," added Terry.

Theory after theory was thought up by the first Year students. One long black-haired girl thought they would have to go on some sort of scavenger hunt.

But, finally, the oak doors opened again. Professor Granger smiled out to all the students.

"Follow me, if you please," she said.

She marched the students forward. They went through the doors into a large hall. A marble staircase stood majestically in front of them. They followed the path of the stairs with their eyes. It branched off into two passages, one left and one right. On the right of the hall, sat two doors. One was larger than the other with a carving of the Hogwarts crest. The other one shrank in comparison. The pattern was mimicked on the other side. Two doors (both the same size as the smaller door) sat in their places on the wall.

Professor Granger led them to the larger door. She opened it slowly and it creaked loudly.

The Great Hall opened before them. Four large tables, each lined with students, were in the vast hall. Another table sat at the end of the hall, housing the staff. Floating above them was an infinite amount of candles. And the ceiling (or rather the look of lack of ceiling) amazed the new students, but the others seemed immune to its charm.

Professor Granger led them to just before the staff table and stopped. She left them standing alone momentarily and returned with a three-legged stool and a battered, dirty wizard's hat.

Silence. For a long while the students stared at the hat and some could have sworn that it was staring back, untilit sang:

"_A thousand Years ago, I think,_

_I was new and good._

_But now, I'm old and battered,_

_And wish I was still a newly sewn hood._

_To pick the new students, _

_Was the job I had,_

_Given to me by the Hogwarts four,_

_And now I'm very glad._

_I will see inside your head,_

_I will see inside your mind,_

_To put into houses,_

_Whether you're brave, or smart, or kind._

_The houses were founded by those,_

_Considered the best of the age,_

_All who hated these wonderful folk,_

_Were locked in a cage._

_Gryffindor is where you may stay,_

_For those of noble hearts._

_Or Ravenclaw may be the house for you,_

_If you really have the smarts._

_Slytherin, Ol' Serpent Tongue, _

_May soon become your home._

_Or kind, sweet Hufflepuff,_

_Whose hard work could have easily built Rome._

_Which ever way your brain decides,_

_Were you ought to stay,_

_I, the old school Sorting Hat,_

_Will not lead you astray_!"

The school broke into boisterous applause as Professor Granger walked back to the front of the school with a large scroll.

"When I call your name, please step forward and place the hat on your head," she said. "Abbon, Drew!"

A tall boy stepped out the mob and put the hat on. It slipped over his eyes.

A long pause then the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

The table at the far left burst into deafening applause as Drew went and sat down.

"Boler, Daria!" shouted Professor Granger.

The hat barely touched her head when

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Two more students were called up and became the first two Ravenclaws when

"Clavereaux, Alia!"

Alia stepped up to the hat and placed it on her blonde tresses and it shouted "RAVENCLAW!"

She hopped down, placed the hat back on the stool and ran off toward the second table from the left.

It went on "Clerwude, Torry" became a Gryffindor. Then the first Slytherin was "Crabbe, Trenton". "Crolford", "Ferri", "Floldily", "Garigamont", "Goyle" and then his twin sister all became new students.

Eleven students after, right after "Lunomen, Jim" became a Ravenclaw; the name "Malfoy, Ethilina" was called.

The girl who had pushed Terry out of the way at platform nine and three quarters dashed up, yanked the hat away from Professor Granger, placed it on her head and it immediately called out "SLYTHERIN!" The table second from the right clapped very enthusiastically.

"Mansfield, Alyssa" became a Hufflepuff and then

"Norron, Travis!"

"Here I go!" said Travis nervously.

He walked gingerly toward the hat and placed it on his head.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Travis relaxed immediately. He set the hat down and ran toward his brother who was standing up, whistling, and clapping vociferously.

Terry was called not long after. After Perry Norton became a Gryffindor.

"Ollivander, Terrence!"

Terry moved forward. He placed on his head.

"_Hmm__let's see_," the hat said in his ear, "_I see you have a good memory; that helps a bit. Good stable mind. Modesty. Caring. Hufflepuff may be good. But no._ _There's something more that sets you apart_." It paused. "_I must dig deeper. What's this_?" after this, it only gave two words. One was: "_Brilliance_!" and the other:

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted.

The Ravenclaw table burst into applause. Terry lifted the hat off his head. He looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Alia, Gary, and Travis were all standing and applauding.

He moved out of the spotlight and over the table to join the other Ravenclaws.

Alia, Travis, Gary rushed over to him. Gary got there first.

"Excellent!" he said giving a congratulatory handshake on a pat on the back.

"Way to go, Terry!" said Travis.

"I had a feeling you would be in Ravenclaw!" cried Alia. She gave him a tiny hug, which stunned Terry.

They all sat down while the ceremony continued.

"Potter, James!" said Professor Granger. She looked up.

A scrawny boy with untidy black hair waded through the crowd. Professor Granger gave him a slight smile. He looked uneasily at the staff table. A tall man with the same black hair and glasses smiled and winked at the boy.

"That's the headmaster's boy!" said a second Year girl sitting next to Gary.

"Don't forget," said Travis, "Professor Potter and Professor Granger are married. He really resembles Potter."

The hat went over James' head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table applauded. Professor Granger considered hugging her son, but decided otherwise. Professor Potter applauded very loudly.

"Potter, Karinthia!" shouted Professor Granger.

The entire hall whispered and mumbled.

"They had twins!" said the second Year girl again.

This Potter resembled her mother. She had the same brushy brown hair but it wasn't pulled back.

The hat slipped over her eyes again.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table encouraged its new member again. This time, Professor Granger _did_ give her daughter a hug. Karinthia didn't seem to mind.

"Wow, I wonder what it's like having two staff members as your parents," said Gary as Renfield, Logan became a Hufflepuff. "What do you think, Naria?" he asked the second girl.

Travis and Terry tried to stifle laughs as Strifle, Benjamin became a Ravenclaw.

"What's so funny?" asked Alia, whispering to them.

"Gary fancies her," said Travis. "He's obsessed! It's pathetic!" (Tottlemen, Aleen became a Gryffindor).

"It would be weird," said Naria.

"Weasley, Cole!"

The red haired boy that Terry, Travis, and Alia had shared their boat with went to the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Cole went and sat down next to the Potter twins.

"I hope they're done. I'm famished!"

One more student then Daniel Yilman became a Slytherin. Professor Granger lifted up the stool and the hat and took them to a side chamber by the staff table.

"Will they hurry up? I want my—WHOA!"

The empty goblets and plated suddenly were filled with hundreds of delicious and delectable delicacies.

Potatoes (mashed, boiled, fries, and roast), beef, chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, pork, ham, peas, beans, carrots, gravy, ketchup, Yorkshire puddings, and pumpkin juice (in the goblets, of course) where all there.

As soon as Travis saw it, he dove in. He grabbed a bit of everything and began eating. He ate and ate and ate. His eyes got wide and he started sputtering and coughing. Alia started patting him on the back.

"Oh for heavens sake! Breathe! Breathe!" she yelled. Travis' hand lunged forward and grabbed his goblet. He drank the entire thing in one gulp.

"Ahh!" he said. "That's better!" He began to devour everything in sight again as his goblet refilled magically.

Alia ate slower and daintier. She took a bit of beef and slowly cut it with one hand and carefully put it in her mouth. You could tell she was from a high class family.

Terry was in-between. He ate fast but ate more politely than Travis. He actually chewed his food.

When the first course disappeared, it seemed from everywhere, silvery white figures shot out of the walls, floor, and ceiling. Hogwarts was obviously haunted. Ghosts of every shape and size where zooming up by the enchanted ceiling. The teachers watched their progress indulgently until the ghosts all sat down at the table. A tall woman ghost sat down next to Terry.

"Hello, young Ravenclaws," she said sorrowfully. She had a highly intellectual and melancholy look about her.

"Erm...hello," said Terry. He didn't know whether to shake her hand or leave it at a "hello."

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lady Anguia. I am the resident ghost of Ravenclaw house. You are?" she asked Terry.

"Terry Ollivander," said Terry.

"Hello, madam," said Alia. "My name is Alia Clavereaux."

"I'm Travis Norron," said Travis.

"Good to meet you," said the woman ghost. "Ah, Master Norron!" She had spotted Gary. "How was your summer?"

"It was quite enjoyable. How was yours Angie?" replied Gary.

"Sad as usual. I made a visit to the castle to haunt those who tormented me. And I still have yet to find a good man to spend the rest of my afterlife with," said Lady Anguia. A pearly white, translucent tear trickled down her face.

Lady Anguia drifted off toward the Hufflepuff table, to say hello to a fat little monk.

"Lady Anguia died in a dungeon because she had the bubonic plague," explained Gary. "And, she never found true love because she never found a man up to her standards. Not a pretty way to go."

Terry, Travis, and Alia all instantly felt very sorry for Lady Anguia.

The next supernatural visitor Terry, Travis, and Alia were introduced to was Peeves. An airborne menace, Peeves wasn't really a ghost, but rather a poltergeist. He flew into the Great Hall, picked up a large bowl of mashed potatoes, and tossed bits of potatoes on all the students. A gaunt ghost floated over from the Slytherin table and Peeves flew off in a hurry.

The feast went on forever. But it was an enjoyable forever. Kids chatted, met some of the other kids and learned about the teachers.

"Now, that man right there," said Gary "is Professor Snape. He's head of Slytherin and teaches potions." He was pointing to a man next to Professor Granger.

He had a hooked noise and piercing eyes. His hair was black and greasy and had streaks of gray.

"He's been here the longest. Taught Potter himself."

Terry was impressed.

"The woman to his right—our left—is Professor Elnota, History of Magic."

A tall woman with a kind face was talking to a woman with wild, windswept brown hair and air bitten rosy cheeks. Gary had told them that she was Madam Soan, the flying teacher and head of Ravenclaw house.

He was just about to tell them about the Astronomy teacher, but was interrupted.

The black haired man got up and walked over to where the hat used to be. He pulled out his wand and said, "_Diasium_!" and an owl shaped podium appeared.

"Hello and welcome to another and hopefully enjoyable and eventful Year, here at Hogwarts!" said Professor Potter in a booming voice. "Since we are sorted, watered, and well fed, I think I shall announce some start of term notices! The staff wants to remind you that the forest at the edge of the grounds is forbidden to all students. And our care taker, Gladys Irriate, would like to tell the students that certain objects are prohibited. She gave me a little list here." He looked down at his podium at a tiny slip of paper. "Super-Chewing Balls, Sticky Sticks, Wacky Wands, Conniving Cobwebs and other hazardous materials are not to be used on school grounds. The complete list is posted on Mrs Irriate's door.

"You are also reminded that magic shouldn't be used in the halls. And my last announcement is: Quidditch tryouts! In the past, the school hasn't allowed first Years to play Quidditch. However, this Year, and hopefully Years to follow, the have done away with the rule. The tryouts are on September the 8th! If you do not have your permission slip signed, you will not play Quidditch, no exceptions! If you do have permission, Madam Soan, our Quidditch teacher, will give you a time to show up for tryouts. Now, off to bed!"

The entire school got up and walked toward the big doors. Six Ravenclaw students at least four Years older or more than Terry stood up and called:

"Ravenclaws, come this way! C'mon!" They led them out the door and up the marble staircase with a pack of Gryffindors.

"Who're they?" Terry asked Gary in a whisper.

"They're Prefects," replied Gary. "They are a team handpicked by their head of house because they have been model students. They usually get picked in their fifth Year." He smiled. "I envy them. I want to be a Prefect."

By now Terry had stopped listening. The Prefects had led them up the marble stairs, to the right, and into a gigantic staircase. There was hardly a square inch not covered by portraits and paintings. The Ravenclaws stopped at the bottom of the stairs but moved out of the way to allow the Gryffindors to pass through.

"These stairs lead to all the class rooms," Gary told them. "But they're just showing it to you lot. Our dormitories are in another direction."

They passed through the door they had just gone through. They walked across the Entrance Hall to the other side. They opened a small wooden door and the large group walked through. The door led to a tiny room with a wooden spiral staircase leading upward. They walked up it. It was a long walk. Step after step they took, realizing how tired they were with each step.

The stairs ended at a large room with bookshelves and antique vases. A statue of an owl was at the far end of the room.

"Now," began a Prefect, "this statue will lead you to the common room. The password will change occasionally, so if you can't get access, find a Prefect. And, the password is a secret, no telling. Understood?"

The Prefect pulled out his wand. He tapped the owls head and said, "Feather flap" very assertively.

The owl sprang to life. It flew to the top of a bookshelf and observed the students. The owl left a small hole. But the brick in the wall rearranged themselves and left an opening for a fully-grown man to get in.

The party walked in. It was a cozy room. The furniture and rugs were deep sapphire blue and glossy silver. There were portraits of wizards with a smart gleam in their eyes, again wearing blue. The fire was even glowing bluebell blue.

"The spiral staircase over there leads to the dormitories. Girls on your right and boys on your left," said another Prefect.

"It's late, so off to bed for you all," said another.

The students went up the stairs. Terry and Travis split up with Alia at the top of the stairs. To there immediate left was a door that said first Years. They opened it and walked in.

It was a circular room (again basically screaming "blue"). Terry and Travis were the first ones in there. Then a short boy with blonde hair entered.

"Is this the first Year dormitory?" he asked.

"Yep," answered Terry.

"I'm Benjamin Strifle. Who're you," asked the new boy.

"I'm Terry Ollivander." He shook his hand.

"I'm Travis Norron."

"Pleased to meet you," said Benjamin.

Two more boys entered the room. They noticed they weren't alone and started chatting.

"Oh, hello," said a tall one with a thin face and auburn mousy hair. He smiled.

"Hi."

He stared at Terry. "You look familiar," he said.

"You might have bought your wand from my dad," said Terry, "I'm Terry Ollivander."

"Yeah!" said the new boy with comprehension. "I'm Jim Lunomen."

"This is Travis Norron and Benjamin Stifle," said Terry indicating Travis and the other boy.

"Hello. This is Davis Byrdman." A boy around Terry's height and build waved.

All of a sudden, there was a loud purring noise.

"What's that?" asked Davis.

Terry looked down. A gray thing was weaving in and out around his legs. "Midnight," said Terry flatly. "My cat."

They all found that their luggage had been brought up for them. They each chose a bed and climbed in.

Terry felt very happy. He was well fed, in good company, and in the place he always wanted to be. As he lay in his bed, Midnight curled in the nook of his legs, he thought of all the things going right with his life. He thought a little more, and drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The First Day of Term

Terry awoke the next morning happier than he had felt in a long time. He opened his eyes. Midnight's green ones stared back.

"Hello," he said to her. She blinked.

He sat up in bed and looked around. Davis and Jim had already gone to breakfast but Travis and Benjamin still were sawing logs.

Terry pushed the heavy comforter off of him and got out of bed. He shuffled sleepily toward his trunk and unlatched it. He pulled out his robes and pulled them on.

Travis stirred in his sleep.

Terry walked over to the window. It was a beautiful day. He looked down and saw that he was seven floors higher than the ground; the top floor.

There was a gentle knock at the door to the dormitory. Alia peeked her head it with her eyes closed.

"Is everyone decent?" she asked.

"Yeah. You can look," replied Terry.

She opened her eyes.

"Oh, yours looks just like the girls' dormitory," she said walking in. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did," said Terry. "You?"

"No, not at all," Alia said, stretching. "Hope Livecombe snored all night. And Michelle Bulkstrand speaks in her sleep."

"I'm sorry," said Terry. He walked toward her. "Let's go downstairs. I'm hungry."

They left the boys' dormitory and into the common room. Midnight followed them and raced ahead of them when they got to the bottom of the stairs to sit on a cerulean chintz armchair. She stared at them, her tongue sticking out.

"I know I've said this before," said Terry, "but that is the weirdest cat I've ever seen."

She started to purr.

They went out of the secret passageway to the common room and the owl swooped back to its perch.

Down the spiral staircase they went and into the entrance hall and down the Marble Staircase. They were just about to go into the Great Hall but were distracted.

"Hey, you!" sounded a loud, drawling, feminine voice.

Alia and Terry wheeled around to see Ethilina Malfoy, two fat, ugly boys, and a pale girl with long shiny black hair.

"Who're you?" asked Alia.

"What?" said Ethilina. "You've never heard of the infamous Malfoy family? Pity," she said with a smirk.

"I'm not from around here, so I wouldn't know the," she started to mock Ethilina with a squeaky malicious voice, "_the infamous Malfoy family_."

It was a stare off.

"Where are you from?" Ethilina spat. "I don't recognize your accent."

"Georgia," replied Alia. "And by _your _accent, I can tell you're from down under."

Ethilina looked confused. "I am not from Australia."

Alia gave a horrible, malicious grin. "Oh, you misunderstand my usage of _under_."

Ethilina took a little while to understand this. When she did, she turned red.

"How dare you!" Ethilina pulled out her wand. So did the other girl, one of the ugly boys with a pudding bowl hair cut, Alia, and Terry.

"What's going on here!"

Everyone looked toward the marble staircase. Professor Granger was standing there, her hands full of books.

No one spoke.

"You know that magic is not allowed between classes," she said forcefully. "I will let you off with a warning, but not again. Now go off to breakfast!" Everyone walked toward the big doors. "Except you, Mr Ollivander," she said more calmly.

What had he done? He had only been here twelve hours. He couldn't have done anything, could he?

Terry stayed behind.

"What is it, Professor?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.

"It is about Quidditch," she said. "I don't have your permission form. Do you have it with you, per chance?"

Terry was confused. "I thought I had to hand it in during class or something."

"Oh no, Terry," she said. "The letter said to send it by post. We didn't receive yours."

"It's up in my bag. Shall I go get it?" he asked.

"No, that won't be necessary." She whipped out her wand. "_Accio Permission Slip!_"

A whizzing noise followed and out of the staircase he and Alia had came out of shot a tiny slip of paper. Professor Granger caught it.

"Whoa! I want to learn how to do that!" said Terry excitedly.

"Its fourth Year magic. I don't think you'll be able to do it." She turned to the slip. "Ah, yes! I see your father signed it. Good. Well that's all I needed to know. You may go." She ushered him to the door with a grin.

He opened it and went into the Great Hall. It was even more stunning in the daytime. Gentle rays of light entered through stained glass windows Terry hadn't seen the night before. The ceiling illuminated the entire room with sunlight.

He saw Alia and Gary and went to sit down with his fellow Ravenclaws.

"Good morning," said Gary optimistically.

"'Morning," said Terry. He looked at his plate. Two strips of bacon, two sausage links, two pancakes, two eggs, and a large pile of hash browns were there. It looked delicious.

He grabbed his fork and began eating. He dropped his fork with a clatter when he was startled by at least a hundred owls swooping in through one of the higher windows.

A barn owl plunged out of the air at Terry and landed elegantly near his goblet of pumpkin juice.

"It's a letter from my mum," he said noticing the handwriting on the envelope.

Dear Terry,

It' your mother writing. Your father and I wanted to see if you got to school okay. Right after you left on the train, your father and I went to your room to see if you had forgotten anything. I don't know why I did but I decided to read your Quidditch letter again. It said that we had to send the form by post. I hope there wasn't much confusion when you found out. Sorry about that. Your father is doing fine. He did get a shock when he discovered an angry bowtruckle had snuck into his new wood order. He's writing to the Ministry right now. Hope you're doing well. I have to shorten the letter here because Mr Eeylops is lending me one of his good owls.

Lots of love,

Mum

P.S. Happy early birthday! Love you!

"A little late now, mum," said Terry with a chuckle.

The doors to the Great Hall opened and a disheveled Travis walked lazily in.

"'Morning," he yawned. He plopped down in his seat and noticed the food. He didn't eat with the same gusto as the night before, but he did seem to be hungry.

"That was a good breakfast," he said, fully awake now. "What time does class start?"

"Nine," said Alia. She pulled into her tiny pink handbag with a daisy print on it and pulled out two tiny, three-paged booklets and handed them to Travis and Terry. They were schedules.

"First we have Transfiguration," stated Travis looking at his schedule.

"Then Charms," added Terry.

"Then Lunch," said Travis with eagerness.

"Then Potions and Herbology," finished Alia. She popped a bit of hash browns and ketchup into her mouth.

Gary stood up and brushed his robes off even though there was nothing on them. He told them he had to go to History of Magic and headed off.

They ate in silence. Terry plowed through all his food and then helped himself to more. After that helping, he glanced up at the staff table. Professors Granger and Potter were conversing. Snape was observing all the students with his over-sized noise cringed. The woman Gary told them was Madam Soan was talking to a woman (who didn't seem to care much for conversation) with black-gray hair pulled into a loose bun.

Travis looked down at his watch.

"Ah! It's eight-thirty now? Right, now!" he said in amazement. "I really slept in. I think we should head out to Transfiguration! We don't know where it is.'

"Point taken," said Alia. She ate one more mouthful of eggs, sipped her pumpkin juice, and grabbed her bag.

"Coming, Terry?" she asked.

"Yeah." He stood up and followed the two of them out of the hall.

Once in the Entrance Hall, they began to decide where to go.

"I think we need to ask someone," said Alia.

"No we don't," said Travis indignantly. "We go to that big staircase and look for the other Ravenclaws first Years and follow them."

"Alright," said Alia. "But if we get lost, we're asking someone."

They agreed. They went up the marble staircase and made a right. They opened the door and found themselves at the larger staircase. They noticed a tall boy with auburn hair. Terry recognized him as Jim Lunomen, one of this fellow Ravenclaws, at the landing of the first floor.

"Oy! Jim!" shouted Terry from the bottom of the stairs. Jim looked around.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Where's the Transfiguration classroom?" asked Alia politely.

"Right through here on the first floor," said Jim.

"Oh! See? I told you we needed to ask someone," said Alia with triumph, but was ignored by Travis.

They began to climb the stairs. About half way up, Alia (wearing such expensive shoes) tripped. Terry, Travis, and Jim went to help her up.

"Thanks," she said.

The stairs gave an almighty lurch and started floating upward. All four of them looked horrified.

"What's happening?" asked Alia. Her face turned an almost milky white.

"Gary told me about this," said Travis. "The stairs change from time to time."

The stairs took them up, higher and higher, passed the second floor. The third whizzed by. The fourth and fifth glided passed. and the sixth passed in a blur, but Terry could make out Mrs Irriate The stairs only halted at the very top; the seventh floor.

"Now where are we?" asked Terry.

"Dunno," said Jim. They looked around. There was a door on the landing. They hopped off the stairs and tried to open it. Locked.

"Well, maybe we can convince the stairs to take us back down," said Travis. But no luck. As Travis said this, it descended again and a stone railing replaced it.

"Now how do we get down?" Alia looked worried.

They sat and thought. Five minutes went by. They still were thinking. Then, like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck Jim.

"I know one charm that could us get in the door. I can't say how well it will work, though. But, it's worth a shot." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the doorknob. "_Alohomora_!" he said. There was a tiny _click_ heard and the door sung open. It opened into a large room (very much like the one with the Ravenclaw common room) piled high books in shelves and doors in the wall. They walked down it. They saw some portraits. One of a lady in a blue dress and her hair in a bun, another of a man with a greenish rue to his skin, a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress, a picture of a woman draped in shawls and wearing glasses that magnified her eyes (who reminded Terry of his Aunt Sibyll), and finally a picture of a house-elf, cringing at the sight of a sock being out stretched by a hand in a sixteenth century hand.

"I wonder where we are now," said Terry. The entire passage way seemed deserted. No sound came from behind the many doors. All that could be heard were the portraits stirring.

"Why would an entire floor be without people?" asked Alia. "Certainly there are class rooms or offices up here."

They decided to examine the doors. Some were ornate and had intricate designed carved into them while some looked like a block of wood placed into a hole in the wall. Some had big locks, and some of the doorknobs were minuscule. One or two had chains. The ones with the locks and chains Jim tried the Unlocking Charm, with no luck. The chains merely rattled and the locks tried to bite him. They were at a loss.

Just as they were going to try another door, they hear the clicks of high-heels on stone. It was footsteps. They were quickened, fast steps. Around a corner came a woman with short blonde almost spiky hair and wearing black robes. Her face was stern and she was holding out her wand.

"What are you four doing here," she asked in mild surprise.

"The staircase brought us here," said Travis.

"We were trying to go to the first floor but the stair case moved us up here," added Jim.

"Are we not supposed to be here?" asked Alia.

The woman frowned at them. "This floor is closed temporarily for cleaning. Believe me; you don't want to get hit with a Scouring Charm. I can get you to the first floor easily." She went to the portrait of the cowering house-elf.

"Limitless attire!" she said to it. The portrait swung forward on hinges and revealed a tiny crawl space.

"This will take you directly to the first floor, right outside Professor Dannersham's classroom. If she gives you a hard time, tell her to come see me. I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Ferrotte."

Professor Ferrotte swept away and went through the door the four Ravenclaws had just come from. Travis crawled into the minuscule space first.

"It's alright," he hollered back, "it opens into a larger room!"

Next went Jim. Then Alia followed suit and was followed by Terry.

Terry squeezed through the tiny passage. He had pulled himself along into a grungy and dingy stone room. Alia, Jim, and Travis were already there waiting for him. Alia was patting the dust and dirt off her robes. Jim must have landed on his wrist because he was rubbing it and clenching his teeth.

"There you are," said Travis. "I think we just go down these stairs." He pointed to some brown stone steps.

The four of them went down. The narrow stairwell amplified the sound made by their footsteps. Alia's were by far the loudest, being in her expensive shoes. At least sixty stairs they went down. Twice Jim ran headlong into cobwebs and did a sort of spastic dance trying to free his face. Not paying attention where she was going, she thought there was an extra step at what was probably the forth floor landing, and screamed as though she were falling.

They finally made it down. Jim and Alia were relieved. They were in a room most like the once they had just descended from with another crawlspace in the wall. Terry crawled in first this time and pushed against the back of what felt like canvas and the tiny hole opened into a large corridor.

They crawled through and landed in a corridor with suits of armor and portraits. On one door, there was a plague reading the heading diana dannersham, transfiguration.

"This is the place," said Travis. He opened the door.

The room had three long rows of small writing desks, with students sitting in them. At the front sat a woman with long red hair and crescent glasses.

"You're all late," she said, disapprovingly.

"Sorry, we got lost," said Alia. "Professor Ferrotte helped us." She sat down behind Benjamin Strifle. Jim found Davis Byrdman and sat down next to him while Terry and Travis sat on either side of Alia.

The class went on. They were doing a simple spell to turn a button into an insect. Travis's merely twitched and he hit it with his wand; it exploded. Alia made hers sprout wings and antennae. Terry, on the other hand, made an almost perfect beetle (it still had four holes in it). Professor Dannersham awarded five house points to Ravenclaw for that.

"Lucky duck," said Travis to Terry after class was over. His face was still black from his exploding button. "You got an entire beetle. Mine just blew up in my face."

They went outside the classroom and into the corridor.

"What do we have next?" asked Travis. He stretched.

"Charms," said Alia. "On the third floor. I asked Dannersham."

And so they went. Back out into the Grand Staircase and up two flights of stairs (which, to their relief, made no movement what so ever.)

They were the first ones there. Professor Granger was by a blackboard, writing that day's lesson.

Soon, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors piled into the room and took their seats.

Once around twenty of them were there, Professor Granger started the lesson.

"Good morning, class," she said merrily. The class mumbled a low "Good morning, Professor" back.

"I thought we should start small. Today, we'll be learning the Aviary Conjuring charm. If you'll all pull out your wands and say '_Avis_'"

The class did so obediently. They all did reasonably well. Alia made a small kestrel burst from her wand and circle the room. James Potter was able to get a falcon. Poor Travis only got a sparrow. Terry was able to conjure an owl. Everyone got a different bird. Some had exotic birds Terry (and sometimes the caster) had never seen before. Some got very ordinary birds. Only a few were not able to make any type of bird appear. Daria Boler, a small Gryffindor girl, came close though when her wand spat out brightly colored florescent feathers.

Professor Granger helped her and demonstrated the spell herself. A large eagle owl swooped around the room. It landed on poor Davis Byrdman and started to peck at him. He managed to get the bird off him but got a deep cut in his finger in the process.

All in all, it was a fun class. Near the end, almost everyone had gotten a bird to at least poke its head out of the tip of the wand.

"I started out with a sparrow but it eventually turned into a swallow," said Travis, very proud of himself for making his bird grow in size. He looked at his wristwatch. "It's noon! Lunch! I'm starved!"

"We couldn't guess," said Alia in Terry's ear. He gave a small scoff to acknowledge he got the joke and he and Alia followed Travis to the Great Hall.

Travis ate with his usual gusto and Alia with her usual polite and dainty ways. Around one o'clock, they asked Gary where the dungeons were.

"Go straight across the Entrance Hall," he had told them, "the door to the left. Snape's class room is the first classroom on the left once you're down there."

They thanked him and headed to the dungeons.

"You know, they say that Snape doesn't really like other students besides his own," said Travis. "Gary told me."

"Well, you can't have a teacher who is _too_ biased," said Alia. "He could get fired."

This however was not the case. Snape was head of Slytherin house and was completely biased. If a Gryffindor were to so much as simply wonder under his oversized nose, he would wrinkle it in disgust. So Gryffindors (along with Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws) often tried to avoid Snape outside of his classroom.

They descended stone steps with one left turn. Tiny queues of students were waiting outside the door. Jim and Davis were already there. Soon, Benjamin Strifle joined them. It appeared they were having the class with the Hufflepuffs (the Ravenclaws suspected since they looked very unfamiliar).

They waited five minutes and then Logan Renfield, the boy who had asked Professor Granger about her and Professor Potter, came down the steps.

"I've just spoken to Professor Snape," said Logan breathlessly. He must have run there. "He says for us all to get in our seats before he gets here. He's running late."

They all filed in the classroom. It smelled musty. You could see the dust in the air. No windows were on the walls. The only light was a fireplace with a large cauldron bubbling and boiling on top of it.

Terry had just put his cauldron and copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi on his desk when the door behind them opened suddenly with a bang. The entire class quieted down but the man who entered said "Quiet down! Quiet down!" anyway. He had greasy black hair with streaks of silvery gray, a large hooked nose, and sallow, sickly looking skin.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape began in a loud, but whispery voice. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here "many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the sensesI can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death—if you're not as bunch a pillocks as I usually have to teach."

Terry, Travis, and Alia exchanged side glances. They had never been called pillocks by an adult before. Terry could already tell that he didn't like Snape much.

"I thought we would start with something _simple_," Snape continued.

They were divided into pairs and started to add the ingredients to a boil-curing potion. Terry and Travis were put together and Alia was put with Ellistris Kanteroff, a girl in her dormitory.

Terry thought he did reasonably well. He put a good amount of snake fangs. Travis did well with the dried nettles. And after the horned slugs and taking the cauldron off the fire, they added porcupine quills. It was a light brown color. Snape said it was a little too lumpy but gave them a good mark.

Alia and Ellistris' potion had turned a gray and it was smoking slightly. Snape rushed over.

"You were supposed to only let it on the fire for five minutes. That's a point from Ravenclaw for each minute of your stupidity!"

Snape assigned an essay on how to do the potion correctly (and reminded Alia that hers had to be a full page instead of half).

Alia left the dungeon vexed. She was cursing under her breathe and calling Snape names.

Travis and Terry only caught snippets of her ranting like: "That hooked nosed pile of cow dung" or "Grease headed nincompoop!"

She stormed up the dark stairs with Terry and Travis flanking her. They walked out the great oak doors and onto the lawns. It was nice and sunny. The warm air felt good especially when a light cool breeze would blow through.

Alia had abandoned her attempts to dirty up Snape's name when she made it outside. The weather was too delightful to by too angry. They found a nice oak tree and sat under it.

"So, Terry," began Alia, "what's your Quidditch team?"

"National or local," asked Terry.

"Local."

Terry thought. "I guess the Appleby Arrows. My family likes them. My younger cousin Valizzia is in love with the Seeker, Pursin Graps. Quite unrealistic if you ask me. I think she's starting next Year. And my older brother wants to meet the Beaters, Pepulla and Battuo Stipes."

"You have a brother?" asked Travis. Terry nodded. "Where was he the day I went to buy my wand?"

"Fraton graduated five Years ago. He lives in Devon. He works as a Healer at St. Mungo's. I've seen his house. It's alright. But I really like the house next to it!" Terry replied. "It's about four stories high and kind of lopsided. There's a bunch of gnomes in the garden. It's owned by a man with red hair and his wife."

"Cool!" said Travis. "How about you, Alia? You have any siblings?"

"One," she said. "A younger sister. She's a Year younger than me. She'll be here next Year too along with your cousin."

Travis looked down at his watch. "Almost three o'clock. We should go to the greenhouses for Herbology."

The group made their way to the Herbology greenhouses. They would be having Herbology with the Slytherins. This wasn't going to be enjoyable.

They weren't far from the greenhouses when they heard a familiar drawling voice.

"Yes, well, I'm rooting for the Wigtown Wanderers this Year. They clobbered the Montrose Magpies 200-30! As for the Appleby Arrows"

It was Ethilina Malfoy and her other three Slytherin friends.

"Oh, great!" Alia exclaimed. "An hour of Ethilina Malfoy! What a day!"

They moved closer to the horde of Slytherins.

"My father says that if I'm not chosen to be Seeker, he'll write Potter and demand that I be made Seeker. I play a little back home and—" she noticed Alia. "Oy! Clavereaux!" she hollered. "We never finished that duel, did we?"

"Just ignore her, Alia," said Terry.

"What? Is Little-Ms.-Nose-In-The-Air scared?"

"Ignore her," Terry reminded her.

Ethilina began to mock her more. "Boo-hoo! I'm so scared! Clavereaux is going to _ignore_ me to death! What ever shall I do?" She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and put a fake look of worried panic on her face.

"Hey, Clavereaux! What happened? Do Georgians have a thing against their superiors?"

Alia snapped. She pulled out her wand.

"Alia don't!" shouted Travis. Alia didn't move.

"Oh help! Help! I'm being attacked! Help!" screamed Ethilina. "Clavereaux is going to _kill_ me!" Ethilina's gang doubled up with laughter.

Alia put her wand away with the word "Scum."

They heard footsteps and Terry was sure Ethilina had caused too much attention toward herself. But he was wrong.

A woman with tattered green robes and dirt on her hands came toward them. Her hair was pulled back out of her face, but loose strands came loose and hung in front of her face.

"Move along!" she said to the class. "We're in greenhouse 1!"

The class moved head and the woman went behind them.

They went into the greenhouse with a "1" over the door. All sorts of plants were in here. Plants with spikes, plants with pods, plants with petals, plants with teeth, plants with tentacles, plants with big leaves, plants with tiny leaves, plants that were blue or red or yellow, plants in pots, plants that grew from the ceiling (or any combination of those) were in the tiny greenhouse.

They filed in and made two lines around a long rectangular table.

"Good morning!" said the woman. "I am your teacher, Professor Budman. Today we will be planting Love-in-idleness seeds. A plant that the juices are used in a wide variety of love potions. There should be a packet of seeds, a pot, some rich dirt and Mooncalf fertilizer." She explained how to plant them.

It was actually fun. The students would entertain themselves by talking to their friends and Professor Budman didn't mind.

"I never asked," said Terry to Alia, making sure he was filling the fertilizer to half the pot, "What's your Quidditch team?"

"The Sweetwater All-Stars," replied Alia. "They're from Texas." She placed a dazzling pink and violet bulb into small hole in the top into her pot.

"I don't get Quidditch at all," said Travis. Alia and Terry explained all about the four balls and the players.

"There's a red ball called a Quaffle used for scoring. Three Chasers use it and get it in to one of the three hoops guarded by the Keeper. Ten points for each goal," Alia told him.

"Two Beaters will hit these big iron balls called Bludgers at other players and keep them away from their teammates. And the Seekers chase the Golden Snitch, a tiny, golden, winged, fast, hard to see ball, and try and catch it. When it is caught, the game is over and the Seeker's team gets an extra One-hundred and fifty points for their team," Terry added. "Fun game."

Professor Budman told them to take the seedlings back to their dormitories and take care of it for a week for homework.

They put the pots in their bags and exited the greenhouse.

Alia and Travis were talking about the more specific details of Quidditch. Terry was looking at his course schedule. Dinner wasn't for another hour.

"What do you all want to do?" asked Terry.

Travis shrugged. Alia looked thoughtful. Then she suggested:

"We could go to the common room and drop off our books and Love-in-idlenesses before dinner."

They agreed on that. They walked back up to the castle and into the Entrance Hall. Some students, they noticed, were going into the Great Hall for an early dinner.

They went up the stairs to the corridor where the statue of the owl was. They walked to it and Terry said, "_Feather flap!_"

The owl sprang to life and flew to the top of the bookshelf. They walked through the opening and heard the bricks rearranging themselves back to where they used to be.

Terry, Travis, and Alia entered the blue room and went up to their dormitories. Terry put his Love-in-idleness on the windowsill and put his textbooks on his cerulean bed.

Travis and Terry met Alia at the bottom of the stairs to the dormitories. They went through the statue passageway and down the corridor. Once downstairs they headed toward the Great Hall.

They sat down at the Ravenclaw Table next to Gary and Davis Byrdman. Gary was reading _A Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2_ and Davis was playing Wizard Chess with Jim Lunomen.

Terry helped himself to a bit of everything and Travis carried on in the usual manner. Alia was speaking to her new friend Ellistris Kanteroff about Georgia.

Terry was about to bite into a fried chicken leg when a tiny barn owl swooped though the window and dropped a letter on his mashed potatoes. Terry pulled the letter out, wiped off the potatoes, and noticed the envelope was a yellowing parchment with a seal of the Hogwarts school crest. It was addressed to him in emerald ink.

He opened it and read:

Hogwarts School

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Dear Mr Ollivander,

I was thinking about this morning when you said you wanted to do a branch of higher level magic. You might want to try some books in the library. When I was in school, that's what I did and it worked very well. _The Standard Book of Spells _grades one-seven could be of help. Also test _Charming Charms for the Charmed_. The librarian, Mr Fulton, would also be glad to help. The library is opened from breakfast until nine o'clock, which is the earliest curfew. Anytime between that should be a fine time to check out a book.

If you ever need a place to practice the spells in private, my room is open between breaks and during dinner. Don't misuse the privilege of using my room. Don't mess with anything on my desk. It's classified.

I hope I was of some help.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Hermione Granger-Potter

"It's from Professor Granger," said Terry. "This morning I told her I wanted to do harder magic and she sent me this letter." He shot a glance at the staff table. Professor Granger was speaking to Professor Ferrotte. She returned the glance and winked. She went back to her conversation.

"What did she say?" asked Alia. Alia was now alone. Ellistris had gone to see the matron about a cut she got from a plant near the greenhouses. It had swollen up and had grown large purple pus packed pustules.

"She told me to look in the library," Terry told her. "She gave me some book names."

"Want to go now?" asked Travis. He had taken a break from his food. "We have time."

"No," said Terry after a while of thinking. "I'll just browse _A Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1_ tonight. It'll probably be easier for us to do." They spent the next thirty minutes just chatting away and having a good time. They each played Jim Lunomen in Wizard Chess (Alia was remarkably good). Around seven, the six of them (Alia, Davis, Gary, Jim, Terry, and Travis) went up to the dormitory.

As soon as Terry got there, he ran up to his bed and grabbed his spell book.

He showed them how he could perform the Levitation Charm fairly well. They browsed the book. Alia tried the Locomotion Charm. She made her eraser run around the room, closely pursued by Midnight. Travis tried the _Avis _spell they had learned in class. He wanted to improve his bird.

He tried and tried. Swallows fluttered out each time. Eventually, he go so sick of it, he conjured them one more time and then enjoyed having target practice by sending sparks out of his wand. One got mad and dove at him. Travis was surprised and dropped his wand. A large blue jay issued from the wand. Travis smiled triumphantly.

Nine o'clock came round and Terry found himself very tired. He told Alia goodnight and he and Travis went up to the dormitory as Alia continued to entertain Midnight.

They slipped off their robes and got into their pajamas.

They told each other goodnight and pulled the hangings around their beds. Terry went to sleep very fast.

He had a funny dream. He was underground and alone in a dug out circular room. There were seven square holes in the wall. In each something round was in each one. He went to the one in front of him. There was a large round black jewel in the middle of the glass sphere. He reached for it and it changed into a dark red weasel. It bit him. He woke up with a flash and tried to go to sleep again.

_Just a nightmare_, he told himself. _Just a nightmare_.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Quidditch Tryouts

Terry didn't remember the nightmare he had had the night before too well, but dismissed it. He woke up and stared at the ceiling. He soon found that boring and looked around him, everyone else was up and out of bed.

He sat up and hopped out of bed. He got lost in his robes but found his way though it eventually. He went down the steps to the common room. Midnight was sitting on the singed hearthrug by the remaining blue coals in the fireplace grate. He went over and scratched her behind the ears and she closed her eyes and inclined her head in an affectionate way.

Terry finally arrived in the Great Hall. Alia was painting her nails and Travis was reading the _Daily Prophet_ he had borrowed from Jim.

"So, there is a wizard _prison_?" he asked in surprise after reading.

"Of course," said Alia absent mindedly. "Azkaban. Horrible place."

Travis looked up and saw Terry. His face lit up.

"Terry! Happy Birthday!" he said making room for him. "I have something for you." He pulled out a small box wrapped in green paper with a purple ribbon and handed it to Terry. Terry opened it.

A small golden ball rolled out. It was the size of a walnut and two wings were sprouting out of it. Terry recognized it as a Golden Snitch.

"Travis!" Terry said. "Where did you—?"

Travis smiled. "I got it from Quality Quidditch Supplies the day I got my wand. You told me your birthday was in September so I wrote your parents to get the exact date so I could surprise you. D'you like it?"

"It's brilliant! Thanks!"

"Here," Travis took out his wand. He jabbed the Snitch. It flew up in the air, but not very high. It hovered around Terry's head and he laughed.

"It doesn't work as well as a real one. It can only go so far," said Travis. The Snitch fell with a thud.

Terry looked at Alia. She had a sad look on her face.

"Alia, what's the matter?" asked Terry.

"I would have gotten you a present, butI didn't know," she said apologetically.

"It's alright," Terry told her. "You can just get me two presents next Year."

Alia smiled and gave a tiny giggle. "Thanks, Terry."

"We only have two classes today," said Travis. "Charms andoh no!"

"What?" asked Terry and Alia.

"We have Potions just before lunch. That's just what I want," he said sarcastically, "Snape two days in a row."

No one really smiled after that. They had only had one lesson with Snape and weren't keen on going to have one again. Alia especially wasn't eager to see Snape again. That first lesson seemed like enough for her.

At ten before half past eight, the three of them finished their breakfast and headed up to the second floor. Professor Granger continued with the _Avis_ charm. Birds flew through out the classroom. Travis was able to get blue jays again and would try and inconspicuously show Professor Granger. He was able to conjure one right under her nose. She gave a small "Well done." And Travis seemed to glow.

Near the end of class Professor Granger told the class to put their wands away and told them to write an essay on the usefulness of the _Avis _charm.

Terry, Alia, and Travis were about to leave the classroom, but were stopped.

"Ollivander!" It was Professor Granger. She was sitting behind her desk with oval reading glasses on. "I need to speak with you."

The three of them went back to the front of the room.

Professor Granger took her glasses off and surveyed them. "Did you get my letter yesterday at dinner?" she asked Terry.

"Yes, Professor. I did," he told her.

"Very good. I spoke with Mr Fulton this morning. He said he would be more than happy to help you. But, I need to tell you one more thing." Her face went sterner. Her voice was much slower. "Don't overwork yourself. I did that in my third Year. Nearly finished me off."

"Alright," said Terry.

Professor Granger turned to Travis and Alia. "And you two: don't let him."

Travis and Alia nodded.

"Alright," she said. "Now, get off to class."

Travis, Alia, and Terry left the classroom and began to walk down the Grand Staircase. They made their way down the Marble Staircase and made a right toward the dungeons. Alia went from her happy, endearing self to a rather cold disposition. Snape so far was the least liked person by the trio. Alia, having her little run-in with Snape, disliked him the most.

At ten-thirty, they entered Snape's classroom. They looked around. Yesterday, they had had Potions with the Hufflepuffs. However, today they had it with the Slytherins. Terry's face fell.

"Good morning," said the cold voice of Professor Snape. "I trust we all had time to forget yesterday's lesson. We will be reviewing. But, _this_ time," he hissed, "I will be pairing you up."

Terry was paired with Robby Letterman, a tall skinny boy with one eyebrow and a scowl on his face. Travis and Davis were put together. Unfortunately, when Snape came to Alia, his face contorted into an evil, face consuming grin.

"Since you could not complete the potion yesterday, I think I shall pair you, Clavereaux, with Miss Malfoy. That will be prudent."

Alia's eyes grew to three times their natural size. Terry had a feeling that Alia disliked Snape even more now.

Ethilina came and sat down with Alia.

They both glared sideways at each other.

At while, Alia said, "Look. I can tell that you don't want to be paired with me, right?"

"Right," said Ethilina.

"Neither do I. So, why don't we just make the potion and get this over with. Agreed?"

Ethilina thought hard. She gave Alia a glare and said holding out her hand: "Agreed."

They shook on it.

As the class moved on, Alia and Ethilina didn't say much. An occasional "Now put the nettles in," or "Take the cauldron off the fire," could be heard. But that was about it.

Terry soon learned that Robby Litterman was stupider than anyone he had ever met. He would ask the difference between the dried nettles and porcupine quills. He would ask if five minutes was over when it had only been a minute since he had last asked Terry the very same question.

Finally, at the end off class, Snape swept the room. He had obviously enjoyed looking at the Ravenclaws' the most because they were the easiest to criticize. Poor Ellistris Kanteroff burst into a fit of tears when Snape came to her potion as it churned and bubbles with green sparks flying from it. When Snape finally wheeled around to Alia and Ethilina's potion, he gave a weak smile.

"I see that Miss Malfoy has had a positive effect on you, Clavereaux. Five points to Slytherin." The bell rang.

Alia left the classroom red in the face and storming. Terry and Travis kept well behind her as to avoid being walloped if she got mad enough.

First Years had Friday afternoons off at Hogwarts. Most would spend it on the grounds by the lake. But Terry, Travis, and Alia were found in the library.

They decided to go there after lunch. So, when Travis had finished his last gulp of pumpkin juice, they headed for the fourth floor.

When they entered, they were amazed. Tens of thousands of bookshelves piled high with books covered just about every inch of the floor. There were tiny aisles between them so students could pick out the books comfortably. The shelves radiated off a circular area with tables where students could sit and read. To the right, was a circular circulation desk with a small oil lamp, an ink bottle with a quill sitting in it, and piles and piles of books. A tall man with very short gray hair and semi-circular spectacles sat there stamping in books that had been returned.

Terry, Travis, and Alia approached him timidly. They stood in front of him for a minute. They were waiting for him to look up and see them. Eventually, Travis became impatient and cleared his throat loudly. It had broken the tranquil silence so much that the man jumped and looked wildly around. He spotted them.

"Oh, hello," said the man in a hushed, hard to hear voice. "May I help you?"

"Yes," said Terry. "By chance, would you be Mr Fulton?" He felt uneasy in the stuffy stillness of the multiple volumes and tomes on the many shelves. He always thought his father's wand shop was stuffy and it was a freezer in comparison.

"I would," said the man over his glasses in a distrustful way. "And who are you?"

"I'm Terry Ollivander. Professor Grange—"

"Oh, yes!" said Mr Fulton with comprehension. "I have a few books picked out for you." He bent over and disappeared behind his round desk. He popped back up with three books in his arms. "Let's see. We have _Charming Charms for the Charmed. _You might like the _Standard Book of Spells Grade 2_ and _3. _Let me just stamp them." Mr Fulton took a large violet rubber stamp off its pad of ink and tapped it with his wand. It stamped "T. Ollivander – 9-17" in the fronts of the books. He handed them to the trio and Terry, Travis, and Alia scurried out of the library.

"Blimey!" said Travis loudly once he was safely out of earshot of anyone in the library. "He seemed a bit suspicious of us, didn't he?"

"I thought so too," said Alia. "But, no matter. Let's go to Professor Granger's classroom on the third floor."

And so they went. Down one flight of stairs and down the third floor corridor. They had just reached the door to Professor Granger's classroom when a voice ranted the corridor.

"Ollivander!" it said. Terry wheeled around to see the woman he had been told was Madam Soan. She approached them. Terry thought he was in trouble but realized this was only his second day at Hogwarts and couldn't imagine what he had done.

When Madam Soan was standing directly in front of the group, she smiled, wide and broad. "We have not been formally introduced. I am Madam Soan, your flying teacher and I'm also head of Ravenclaw house." But Terry already knew that from talking to Gary. "I noticed that you turned in a flying permission slip. I need to give you the time you will be trying out."

"Alright," said Terry.

"You will be required to be at the Quidditch pitch on the eighth of this month at approximately six o'clock. Is that alright with you?"

Terry nodded. "Yes, ma'am, Professor."

"Good. And don't worry. You will have a flying class or two before then to give you a good handling for the school brooms. See you then." She gave them one more large smile and whisked off down the corridor.

"So, you're trying out too," said Alia five minutes later. They had started practicing in Professor Granger's room. Professor Granger had to leave; her son, James, was in the hospital wing for an injury he got after throwing a rock at the giant squid in the lake, so they had their privacy. At the moment Terry and Travis were practicing the Levitation Charm were having a sword fight with two canes they had found. Alia was racing a pencil around the room with the Locomotion Charm.

"What do you mean 'too'?" asked Terry. "You're trying out?" He never thought that Alia might try out.

"Well, of course! I love Quidditch. I plan on trying out the Beater position. Their missing two of them on the house team. Their also missing a Seeker, Terry. You should try out!"

"Maybe." He moved his wand vigorously and was able to poke Travis in the stomach with his cane. "I win!"

"Honestly" said Alia, rolling her eyes. She made her pencil stop directly in front of her and made it do cartwheels.

Terry soon began to get bored with the Levitation Charm and began to rummage through _Charming Charms for the Charmed_. As he passed page 65 (_Summoning Charms_), something caught his eye. On page 66, he saw a charm he wanted to learn: Auto-Tasking Charms.

"Alia, Travis, look at this!" said Terry. "Let's try this one!" He pulled out his wand and pointed it at a book. "_Unofruor_!" The book began to say the words printed on the page. "_one of the more complicated charms wizards can learn,_" it said. "_Auto-Tasking Charms are able to make object act on their own accord, usually used make it do what it was made to do by itself. Examples being making brooms sweeps, quills write, balls bounce..._"

"Cool!" said Travis. "Let me try!" He pointed his wand at a quill. "_Unofruor_!" he said. The quill did a sort of jiggle, dipped itself into an ink bottle, and began to write swear words on a long roll of parchment on Professor Granger's desk. Travis dived at the mad-profanity-writing-quill and scribbled out all the swear words. He looked over his shoulder at Alia and Terry with an embarrassed smile. Alia, who had been laughing so hard she was clutching her sides, collapsed sideways off her chair.

Terry, Travis, and Alia spent the rest weekend practicing Charms in different places. Professor Granger's classroom, the Ravenclaw common room, the lake side, and the library (but were kicked out when Terry accidentally hit an entire bookshelf with an Auto-Tasking Charm and all the books began to read themselves at one time) were some of their usual spots.

Monday they had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Ferrotte. Professor Ferrotte began the class by writing her name with her wand in the air and taking roll. From "Abbon, Drew" and "Weasley, Cole," Professor Ferrotte read all twenty names very dully. Then, she asked them to take out their quills and they all took notes for an hour and a half.

At lunch, Terry received a letter from the same barn owl that came from his mother.

Dear Terry,

How's your first week at Hogwarts? Your father and I are very proud. We don't know when your Quidditch tryouts start so, good luck when ever you have them. If you have, congrats if you made it. Your father is doing fine. He had to go to St. Mungo's because he got a bad bite from a phoenix he was plucking for a wand. Hope you're enjoying Hogwarts!

Love from,

Mum

Terry had to laugh. His father had always had a habit of being accidental. After Herbology (they were repotting their Love-in-idleness plants), Terry, Travis, and Alia had their first flying lesson with the Gryffindors.

At a quarter till three, the three of them went out to the grounds. They found twenty or so broomsticks lying in two lines on the lawn. The Gryffindors were already there and Davis and Benjamin were busy looking at the Nimbus Two Thousands and laughing. Eventually, four Ravenclaw girls and Jim arrived and Madam Soan came not long after.

"Hello, class!" said Madam Soan with enthusiasm. She grinned at them with a huge smile. The class returned a "Good afternoon, Professor."

"My name is Madam Soan. Welcome to your first flying lesson. Now, just so you know, this will be one out of two lessons you'll have before tryouts for your Quidditch teams. I will teach you all you need to know, the basics. Now, I will ask you to step up to your broom—go on—don't be shy! It won't bite! Place your right hand over your broom handle and say "Up!"

Terry said "Up!" and the broom came half way up and dropped. He tried again. "Up!" It just merely flopped this time. Terry was starting to feel angry "Up, you stupid prat!" The broom shot up so quickly it almost knocked him over. He risked a glance over at Travis and Alia. Travis was glaring at the broomstick. Travis looked at Terry and waved. As he did so, the broom started to glide toward his hand. He looked back and the broom fell quickly. Travis turned red.

Alia was doing better however. She had said "up" only once and it had leapt into her hands and she was beaming. She gave Terry a wave with her fingers curling and uncurling, like wiggling worms.

"Good work, everyone! Now, I will ask you mount your brooms—that's it! Oh, Miss Boler! No sidesaddle. Now, when I blow my whistle, you will kick off the ground and fly around the grounds. Not too far, though," she frowned, "or I'll have to speak to the headmaster." Everyone gave an uneasy sway at these words.

"Alright! Threetwoone!" The class all kicked off the ground and hovered ten feet. Travis' eyes were wide and he was leaning over to hold on to the broom handle firmer. Alia had ascended very gracefully and was smiling. Terry thought this must be second nature for her. Terry was flying next to James Potter. He was the best of them all. Kids were having races and James was challenged by his best friend, Cole Weasley. James outstripped him very badly.

Alia flew over to Terry. "Alright there, Terry?" Terry nodded. "Want to race?" asked Alia. Terry said yes and hollered at James and Cole to race. They all agreed to start at a pine tree by the gamekeepers' hut and end thirty yards off where Karinthia Potter, James' sister, was holding a flag that Madam Soan had conjured, who was trying to have a bit off fun too.

"Ready!" shouted Karinthia. "Set! GO!" The four of them shot off. James in the lead, then Alia, followed by Terry, and finally Cole. Cole passed Terry and Terry put on a burst of speed, passing Cole and Alia. He continued to go faster. He shot off again and was neck and neck with James. They looked sideways at each other. Terry went back to looking in front of him and James sneezed. James had to double back and there was ten feet left. Five feet to go. Three feettwoone

"Finish!" yelled Karinthia. Alia, James, and Cole flew up and congratulated Terry. He was looking around smiling and he looked back over to Madam Soan. Five or six students were congregated around her, floating only five feet off the ground. Travis was one of them.

"What's up with them?" asked Terry. Alia flew up beside him.

"Oh, those are the students who are scared to go to high," said Alia. "Yeah, those are mostly Muggle-born students. They've never been on a broom before."

The class continued for at least five minutes and Madam Soan called them back. The rest of the lesson was about acceleration, deceleration, braking, ascending, descending, and finally, landing.

"We'll be reviewing tomorrow, students. Gryffindors will be learning with Slytherins," there were groans from the Gryffindors, "and the Ravenclaws with the Hufflepuffs!" The bell rang at that exact moment.

The next day was another good flying lesson. They were really only critiquing the techniques the students had learned the day before. Of all the students Terry had seen fly, no one could beat four people: James Potter, from the day before; Logan Renfield, a Hufflepuff boy; Alia; and himself. He didn't point out he thought he was a good flyer for fear of people judging he enjoyed to boast.

"Well, that was a good lesson," said Alia. She had been racing again and had totally beaten Ellistris Kanteroff and Lilly Williand, a Hufflepuff girl.

"I didn't think so," said Travis. He had to have Jim Lunomen help him from falling off this broom five times and did fall off once.

They trudged up to the castle with the Hufflepuffs. The Hufflepuffs, once in the Entrance Hall, went to the smaller door on the same side as the Great Hall, and the Ravenclaws made their way to their common room. Once inside, Terry pulled out his books, a roll of parchment, and a quill and began to work on his Charms homework he had gotten from Professor Granger last Thursday. He wrote at the top of the roll:

The Avis Charm and How It's Useful

Terry wasn't looking forward to doing this assignment. He sat there for five minutes, just staring at the parchment, when Alia and Travis said they were going to lunch. Terry decided to join them, and together, they went back to the Great Hall and sat down next to Gary. Once again, Gary was engrossed in a book.

"Bloody little know-it-all," muttered Travis under his breath. He helped himself to some chicken legs.

Alia was busying herself with her course schedule. She looked up. "We have our first Astronomy class after lunch."

"I guess that'll be—," said Travis through a mouth full of chips. He swallowed and said, "—interesting" Alia looked at him with disgust.

A little to one, the three of them said their partings to Gary and went up the Marble Staircase and made a right towards the Grand Staircase. They went up a couple staircases, went into three different passageways, found a secret trap door in a broom closet on the sixth floor which put them on the third floor, up more stairs, down another passageway, made several turns, and found them self in a tall tower. They could see the mountains to the west of the castle and had a feeling they were above the Entrance Hall.

They went into the only door and found themselves on a large wide balcony with telescopes lined on the edges with chairs behind each. Terry, Travis, and Alia all sat down in the relative middle of the telescope line and heard the one thing they didn't want to hear.

"My father will be furious if he hears that they are making respectable students like me climb all those stairs. I'll have him write Potter."

Ethilina Malfoy and her three cronies had just walked in the door. When she saw the three of them, who were all rigid, her pointed face cracked into a crooked, malicious, smile.

"Oh, hello, Clavereaux. Ollivander." She turned to Travis. "Morron. I see we have class together."

The three of them said nothing, but Travis was fuming.

"What? Not going to say 'hello?' How impolite." The three other Slytherins sniggered, the other black haired girl laughing the loudest.

Ethilina went on and on, eventually taking her seat beginning to get bored of Terry, Travis, and Alia. Soon, the rest of the class filed in and the last student who entered was closely followed by a woman with a drawn out, thin, pale face and black untidy hair.

"Good afternoon, class," said the woman in an exasperated voice. The class chanted back a "good afternoon" back. "I am your teacher, Professor Mourn. Today, we will be studying in the moon. We are lucky the moon is sometimes visible during the day, or else I would have to have you all come back tonight. If you will all peer into your telescopes and look toward the moon. It's over those two mountains, there. That's it." The class all stuck on eye to the lens of the telescopes.

"Today, the moon is almost a new moon. Just almost there but not quite," said Professor Mourn, glazing up into the sky. She was right. Terry could just see just a sliver of the moon. Nothing more.

"Howmuchcanyouteachabout a ruddy moon!" said Travis through gritted teeth, as they got out of the classroom. They then went down five flights of stairs and went to Professor Dannersham's classroom.

After that class, they went to dinner. Tonight, it was stew. Travis spooned stew into his bowl and began to devour it in the usual way. Gary joined them shortly, and bored them all stupid explaining about Jabius the Jumpy, a historian he had just learned about in History of Magic.

"Anyway, he was always very on edge. So, one night, he went to bed and his wife came home and just kind of haphazardly dropped her traveling cloak on him without meaning to. Well, he went berserk. He thought it was a Lethifold and started shooting Patronuses everywhere. One hit his wife and she was in St. Mungo's for a week."

Everyone around Gary stared at him; mouths wide open in bored astonishment.

"Well, I thought it was funny," said Gary and he ladled some stew into his bowl in a stiff manner. Gary didn't say much to them for the rest of the night. Instead, he decided to start talking to Naria Webster.

When Terry felt full, he asked Travis and Alia if they wanted to go practice more charms out of the books he had gotten from the library.

"Sure, why not?" said Alia. She had to drag Travis by the shoulders to get him away from his bowl. He eventually got up and went with them to the common room.

Terry decided to try Locomotion Charms tonight. Midnight, like she had done with Alia's eraser, chased the beetle Terry had found and was making scuttle around the room. Terry eventually became uninterested in the Charm and pulled out his pack of Exploding Snap cards. He used the Auto-Tasking Charm to shuffle them and Alia, Davis, Jim, Benjamin, and Travis (who had no clue what Exploding Snap was) all joined the game.

Travis soon learned what Exploding Snap was. He was the first one to get the first explosion of the game. His face was covered in black ash and soot. He looked surprised with his eyes wide and the whites of his eyes so visible compared with black.

Around eleven, Davis and Benjamin turned in. Jim went off around midnight. At around twelve-thirty, Terry, Travis, and Alia went to bed. Terry put on his pajamas on crawled into bed once back in the dormitory.

Terry lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He realized that it was already Wednesday. The Wednesday he would be trying out for the Quidditch teams that evening. He all of a sudden felt a feeling of anxious, stomach dropping, nervousness sweep over him. He felt the butterflies in his stomach. One of the feelings he hated the most.

So he sat there for half and hour. _What position will I try out for?_ he asked himself. _Maybe Chaser. Fraton always let me be Chaser._ "No," said another voice in his head. _I never really liked being Keeper. And my arms are sticks. I could never hit a Bludger._ Then it hit him like a Bludger. _Seeker! I'll try out for Seeker._

He turned over in bed. He slowly drifted off into sleep.

He didn't remember the dream much later when he thought back on it the following morning.All he remembered was the colors blue, yellow, and gold, wings, and the number 200. He thought nothing of it and crawled out of bed.

He shuffled sleepily to his trunk and pulled out his robes and donned them. His eyes were still heavy with slumber and his vision was fuzzy.

He went down the stairs and, in his blurry vision, he saw a gray blur sitting in the lap of a black slender something with golden yellow on the top of it. Terry rubbed his eyes and realized what he had seen was Midnight sitting in Alia's lap. Alia was holding three rolls of parchment.

"'Morning!" said Alia when she saw him. Midnight jumped up and scuttled over to him. She wove in and out of his legs, purring. "This came for you." She handed him one of the three rolls of parchment.

Come to the Quidditch pitch at six o'clock this evening. If you will, wear some light weight clothing as to help you to be quicker on a broom.

Braile Soan

Terry folded the paper and put it in the inside pocket of his robes. He noticed that Alia had the same letter and another one, an extra one, was in her hand too.

"What's that for?" asked Terry.

"Oh!" said Alia. She folded the paper and put it in her robes like Terry had. "It's for Travis. He's trying out too."

Terry was dumbstruck.

"Travis? _Our _Travis? Travis _Norron_? _That_ Travis?" he asked.

"Yes, _that_ Travis. He's going out for Beater. He finally mastered balance on that broom yesterday. He said he was always good at some Muggle game where you hit a ball with a bat so I told him Beater would be perfect," said Alia matter-of-factly.

Just then, a disheveled Travis hobbled down the stairs, stiff legged and dull faced. His mouth was hanging open and his hair was in his eyes.

"Ah, I slept—" he yawned "—like a baby last night." He came and sat down by Terry.

Alia rummaged in her robes and found the letter for Travis. "Here you are. This came for you this morning." She handed it to him.

Travis read it and it took him a minute to have a handle on what it meant. "The tryouts are _tonight_? I was hoping to get more practice by then!"

"Sorry, mate," said Terry. He hoped Travis wouldn't make a fool of himself on the Quidditch field.

After their lessons and an early dinner, the three of them walked down the sloping lawn to the Quidditch pitch. The stadium was guarded by a rot iron fence. Terry, Travis, and Alia went through it and went into the stands. Fifteen other people were there. A single Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw and four Hufflepuffs. Terry recognized four people there. James Potter, Logan Renfield, and to his horrible discomfort Ethilina and her black haired friend.

Terry looked down at the field. It was lush and green and the goal posts looked like they had just been polished because they gleamed brightly.

Terry, Travis, and Alia all noticed Ethilina and sat as far away from her as they could. As soon as they sat down, Madam Soan came out onto the field with four other students. She was carrying a clipboard large purple megaphone and she spoke into it.

"Good evening, students," her booming voice said. "Thank you for deciding to try out for your house Quidditch team. May I introduce the team captains for the teams? Taylor Kinsburn of Gryffindor." A tall boy with sleek brown hair waved up at the crowd. "Michael Colphford of Slytherin." An almost pencil thin pale boy with rings under his eyes smirked and nodded. "Harold Gatric of Hufflepuff." A pudgy boy smiled and waved. "And Marigold Raymond of Ravenclaw." A girl with brown braids winked at the crowd.

"We will see you alphabetically. Starting with" she looked down at the clipboard she was carrying "Blaire Blecman! Who is trying out for Chaser for Hufflepuff." Blaire scored eight out of ten goals.

After Blaire came another student and then...

"Next we have, trying out for the Ravenclaw Beater, Alia Clavereaux!"

Alia was fantastic. Harold Gatric and Taylor Kinsburn, who were both Beaters, shot Bludgers at her and she hit each one with great force. Once, she almost hit Ethilina with a Bludger and claimed it was an accident. She got away with it.

Nine tryouts later, Travis was up. Terry had to give it to him. He was pretty good. Not pretty good. Exceptional! He was able to hit most of the Bludgers and had good aim when he was supposed to try and hit a moving target with it.

"Very good, Mr Norron," said Madam Soan when he had finished. "Next we have Terry Ollivander trying out for the Ravenclaw Seeker."

He went out onto the field and took the broom Marigold Raymond handed him.

"Terry, correct?" asked Marigold.

"Yeah" said Terry absentminded.

Marigold smiled. "I'm going to charm these walnuts we've painted gold to fly around the stadium. Catch as many as you can in a minute. Ready?"

Terry nodded.

"Alright, then." She pointed her wand at a piled of golden walnuts and used a very advanced Levitation Charm. They all shot up, hovered in the air for a second, and they all zoomed off in opposite directions. "Mount your broom." Terry did. "We'll start the timer in threetwoone!"

Terry shot off from the ground and went twenty feet into the air. It was delightfully cool. He felt the wind whip past his face in a slow breeze. He looked around. He could see little glints of gold everywhere. He saw one three yards away from him and shot after it. He was a foot away when he clamped his fingers on it. He opened his hand. The walnut was brown again. Now Terry got it. If he caught a walnut, it would return to normal so Madam Soan could calculate properly.

Terry didn't waste time after that. He got a firmer grip on his broom and rushed around the stadium. He saw anther walnut and caught it. Then another. Then there were four walnuts. Five. Eleven. Fifteen—no—sixteen. Terry lost count. After a tiny while, all the walnuts dropped out of the sky and landed on the grass. Madam Soan used a Summoning Charm to round up all the walnuts and counted them all out.

"Eighteen out of twenty!" exclaimed Madam Soan. "You may go, Ollivander."

Terry made his way to the stands. He sat back down next to Travis and Alia.

"You were great, Terry!" squealed Alia.

"That was cool!" said Travis.

When it was Ethilina's turn to get on a broomstick, Terry, Travis, and Alia all stared intently at her. She was taking a stab at Seeker for Slytherin. She caught nineteen walnuts out of twenty. Terry hated the fact she was better than him. Near nine o'clock, the last student tried out. Madam Soan pulled out her megaphone again.

"Thank you! I have made my decision. I will post it up outside the stadium. Look at it on the way out. You may go."

There was a rush to get to the rot iron gate. When Terry, Travis, and Alia made it there, they read.

Gryffindor

Rhonda Haroldman – Chaser

James Potter – Seeker

Slytherin

Carol Densor – Chaser

Jacelyn Goyle – Chaser

Ethilina Malfoy – Seeker

Hufflepuff

Blaire Blecman – Chaser

Vincent Abberly – Beater

Logan Renfield – Chaser

Ravenclaw

Natasha Skile –Chaser

Alia Clavereaux – Beater

Travis Norron – Beater

Terry Ollivander – Seeker


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Shattered Reputation

When Terry finally made it back to the common room that night, he told anyone who would listen, mainly Midnight as everyone had gone to bed, about what had happened. He sat on the edge of his bed, his chin in his hands and told Midnight a play-by-play of what happened.

"..then I shot off around the stadium—whooshing and zooming along—and then I caught four more walnuts and then I turned around and shot after a couple more I saw in the distance and then—"

"Terry!" shouted Travis from his bed. "I know you're excited. I am too. But, I'm asking this as a friend, mate, would you just shut up and go to bed?"

Terry scratched Midnight behind the ears and got into bed. He lay on his side, thinking about the last two hours. He made it onto the Ravenclaw house team as a Seeker. That night, he had a dreamless sleep, but in the morning, for some reason, he remembered something about flying walnuts.

Terry got up and got dressed in a hurry. He wanted to send a letter to his mother about making the team.

So, he went into the common room and went through the owl statue passageway and went to the owlery, a stuffy room with owls of all shapes and sizes. He scrawled out a short message to his mother, and sent it with a barn owl.

"You all made it on the team?" asked Gary when they told him about the prior nights' events.

"Yeah. All three of us," said Travis.

"That's great! We'll win the Quidditch Cup for sure this Year. Last Year we lost every game we played. It was horrible," Gary told them.

"Wait, who made it on the team?" asked a boy on Gary's other side.

"My brother and his two friends did, Peragu," said Gary to the boy.

"Blimey! We must have a party!" the boy leapt up and went to tell his friends. They all smiled and craned their necks to see Terry, Travis, and Alia.

"Gary, who was that?" asked Terry.

"Oh, him? That was Peragu Paleface. He's boy in my dormitory. A real trouble maker, he is."

Peragu and two other Ravenclaw second Year boys rushed out of the hall with large grins on their faces.

"Its business as usual, you two," said Alia looking at her course schedule. It was indeed. Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Herbology were on the days' agenda. In Transfiguration, they were studying the History of Famous Tranfigurers. Charms, they had started the Levitation Charms. Potions was anther grueling experience. Snape, obviously in an already bad mood, was docking points like his life depending on it.

"Kanteroff, too many goat horns! Two points from Ravenclaw. Williand, you wait until it starts steaming, not sparking! Three points from Hufflepuff!"

For this reason, Terry, Travis, and Alia all did their best to make their potions acceptable. When Snape swept over, he glared down into Terry's potion. A vein in the bridge of his nose pulsated madly. His eyes narrowed and his mouth made a horrible curl upwards. He seemed to be struggling to say something he thought were words to kill him.

"Good work, Ollivander," he eventually spat. "Much better than I would have expected. I doubt it will happen again."

Terry sat there, dumbstruck.

That night, when Terry, Travis, and Alia got back to the common room, the once pale blue room was decked out in multicolored confetti; balloons, party hats, crackers, drinks, and food were piled into the room with a large banner draped over the room saying "Congratulations New Ravenclaw Quidditch Players!" in large blue letters.

It was quite a celebration. When Alia took her first step into the common room a dozen hands seized her and yanked her inside. Travis was bombarded by Gary who showed him around to a couple six-Year Prefects.

Terry was actually asked for pictures by two girls in Alia's dormitory who introduced themselves as Michelle Bulkstrand and Hope Livecombe. Michelle was a red haired freckled girl and Hope was a white-blonde haired pretty girl. Both Hope and Michelle fought over who could put their hand on Terry's shoulder in the picture and who had to take the picture.

Once Terry could get away, he was approached by Peragu Paleface.

"You like it?" asked Peragu. He was draped in orange streamers and a lime green party hat. He was holding a tankard of butterbeer, a sweet frothy drink that Peragu had apparently nicked from a pub in the village near the castle.

"Yeah," said Terry. "It's great."

"I'm trying to outdo my distance uncles. When they were here at Hogwarts, they threw at least twenty parties. I've already taken down four parties, this being the fifth."

Terry was bewildered. "Those must be some uncles."

"Their famous," said Peragu with a mischievous smile. "They're my uncle Fred and George. They're the owners of the Weasley Wizard Wheezes: Joke of All Kinds."

"You're joking! Really?" asked Terry.

"Yeah. They're my father's sister's husband's younger brothers. I have a diagram."

Peragu departed to go give Travis a good slap on the back. Terry went off to find Alia to find her sitting on a stool in a corner looking harassed.

"Terry!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "Thank goodness I found you. I thought they would smother me."

Terry sat down in a stool next to her. "It's quite a party," said Terry taking a shifty at the party from a distance. "I wonder where Travis is."

Alia put her face in her hands with an exasperated sigh. "I don't know, but I'm not going to go look for him."

Just then, Travis, looking tousled flung himself out of the party.

"I—need—air" gasped Travis. He sat down also.

"So," started Alia. "We're the new Ravenclaw Quidditch players."

"Yeah," said Terry. "Cool, isn't it." This sounded rather sedate compared with exciting connotation this sentence implied.

The party started to die down by midnight. Midnight came scuttling out of the crowd and leapt into Terry's lap. He stroked her head and Alia scratched her behind the ears.

Michelle Bulkstrand and Hope Livecombe had lost their interest with Terry and started flirting with the Prefects Travis was introduced to. Midnight rushed off to the stairs toward the boys' dormitory and came down the stairs with a gold something hanging out of her mouth. Midnight had found the model Snitch Travis had given Terry for his birthday. Oddly enough, Terry had a feeling Midnight was congratulating Terry on his becoming a Seeker.

As the month progressed, the homework total increased exceedingly. Professor Granger had not been satisfied with Terry's _Avis _essay and asked him to redo it. The following Tuesday, Professor Dannersham taught them all an entire chapter on Famous Tranfigurers and asked the class to write a seven-inch long report on all that they had learned. Professor Ferrotte had started to teach them defense spells. They were learning the Knock Back Jinx. They class hadn't done too well and were asked to practice for homework.

All in all, Terry felt swamped. He sat in the library on Saturday afternoon looking up Falco Aesalon, the first known Animagus, Rita Skeeter, a famous Animagus reporter, Emeric Switch, author of _a Beginners' Guide to _Transfiguration, and all information on the Avis Charm he could.

On the Wednesday two weeks after the Quidditch tryouts, Terry, Travis, and Alia were sent owls during lunch. They all read the same.

Come the Quidditch pitch this evening. We need to start practicing.

Marigold Raymond

Six hours later, they made their way down to the Quidditch pitch and grabbed three brooms that were waiting outside the stadium for them. Once inside, they were introduced to all the players who were all in their azure robes.

"That is Walt Tanes, a Chaser," Marigold told them. An upright, mature looking boy with glasses that reminded Terry of a bird smiled. "And that is another Chaser, Natasha Skile. She's new like you, but she already knows us." A blonde girl next to Walt Tanes waved at them. "And finally, our Keeper, Antony Handman." A tall boy with a good looking face said, "Cheers," and waved.

"Everyone, this is Alia Clavereaux, our new Beater. That there is Travis Norron, our other new Beater. And this is our brand new Seeker, Terry Ollivander."

Natasha Skile's face lit up.

"Ollivander? I know that name," she said.

Terry had gotten this a lot anytime he introduced himself to people at Hogwarts. "Yeah, my dad owns a wand shop. You probably got yours from him."

"Yeah!" Natasha exclaimed. "I remember you!" said Natasha excitedly. Terry felt his face go red. "Your dad was helping me and you wondered out of this back room. Once you saw me you got all red in the face and ran." She giggled childishly.

Terry had a feeling he was deep crimson. He could feel the heat radiating off his face. Marigold took this awkward silence to bring the crowd back to her.

"So! Let's crack on, shall we?"

The all mounted their brooms and dashed off. Six of the players lined up in midair with Marigold in front of them.

"Now, since we have four new players, let's start with the basics. Now," Marigold turned to Terry, Travis, and Alia. "Clavereaux, I need you and Norron to start circling the stadium. That is one of the best Beater tactics. And be on the alert."

Alia and Travis flew off.

"Ollivander, I want you to just fly around. We will be releasing the balls soon so be on the look out for the Snitch. All right?"

"Okay," said Terry. He flew off too. He looked back to Marigold and saw she was lecturing Walt, Antony, and Natasha about what they should do. Antony departed the party to stand guarding the three round goal posts at the side of stadium nearest to the castle. Marigold sent Walt and Natasha off and they flew off toward the middle of the field.

Marigold flew down to the ground and opened a large chest Terry hadn't noticed. When the chest opened he saw a tiny glint and knew the Snitch had been released.

Then, two large black balls shot into the air and one shot at Alia. Alia flew downward as fast as she could and shot up when the Bludger had past.

Marigold flew back up to the other Chasers with the Quaffle and two wooden bats under her arm. Marigold reached into her Quidditch robes and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at her throat and said something Terry couldn't hear. But she said next you had to be extremely deaf not to hear.

"Alright, Clavereaux and Norron, come get your bats," said Marigold. Alia and Travis both went to retrieve their bats. "The Chasers and I will be trying to score on Handman! Ollivander, see how fast you can catch the Snitch. Once you have, let it go, and give it a half a minute's start and go after it again. Clavereaux and Norron, see if you can unseat anyone. Everyone clear?"

Everyone nodded and took off.

Terry flew in a zigzag back and forth in the stadium, looking for the Snitch. He thought he saw it but it turned out it was merely Walt Tane's glasses. He flew around the stadium trying to hawk out the Snitch. After a minute or so, a large black Bludger came whizzing at him. He shot downward and he heard Alia yell "Sorry, Terry!"

Another five minutes past. Nothing. He was accidentally hit by Natasha Skile when a Bludger hit the back of her broom and sent her off course. When Terry had helped Natasha back onto her broom, he saw, twenty feet away, a tiny golden ball; the Golden Snitch. He flew zoomed after it, knocking Natasha off her broom again and she screamed after him.

Terry flattened himself against the broom handle to help himself go faster. The Snitch would make tiny twitches in different directions to avoid capture. He was four feet away and leaned forward. He was so close he could feel the wind coming off the fluttering wings of the Snitch. He tried to make his arm go further. His body started to leave the broomstick. He was only touching the broom with his legs. He made one more attempt to lean forward and

"Got it!" said Terry. Marigold looked over.

"Very good, Ollivander," said Marigold. "Now, do it again."

Terry was crestfallen. He was very proud of his capture, but Marigold had flown off again to resume play as a Chaser. So, reluctantly, he let go off the Snitch and counted to thirty. He looked around. There was no gold to be seen anymore and he set off again, looking around. In the next twenty minutes he caught the Snitch four times. Each time Marigold would give him a bit of praise and go on with her work. Around eight o'clock, Marigold called them all back to the middle of the field with a loud _bang_ she made issue from her wand.

"That was very good, all of you. Tanes, do look to who you're passing to. When you passed to me I thought you had thought I was twelve feet to the left. Handman, don't stick to one hoop. Norron, watch you're aim. Clavereaux, try and be quicker. Ollivander, see if you can spot it earlier and go after it faster. Skile, I must ask you. When you get onto the field, don't wave to Warner Fuller. I noticed he can be a distraction to you. It's very unprofessional."

"I'm not dating _him _anymore, Marigold," said Natasha like she expected Marigold to know this.

"Well good! I thought he was too much a distrac—"

"I'm going out with Lloyd Connoly!" said Natasha promptly. "_Warner Fuller_," she whispered with a laugh.

"Overall, you all did well," stated Marigold. "I will expect you here next Saturday before lunch."

The six of the other teammates trudged back to the castle. Antony Handman leading the way with Natasha and Walt, who were talking, right behind him. Terry, Travis, and Alia were behind them all and they were chatting too.

"She's a Quidditch stickler!" exclaimed Travis when they were out of earshot of Marigold. "I thought Tanes did a perfect job of passing." Travis obviously hadn't been watching Walt because he wasn't doing a good job of passing.

"Natasha Skile sounds a lot like my cousin, Valizzia. The one I told you about," said Terry.

Just then, Natasha waved to Walt and doubled back to talk to the three first-Years.

"So," she began, "what do you think of the team?"

"They're really good!" said Alia.

"Yeah. They're great. Nice lot," said Terry.

"Is Marigold always like that?" asked Travis.

Natasha sighed. "I'm afraid not," she said. "It's just Quidditch that gets her riled up."

The four of them all went up to the common room together. As soon as Travis made it in, Gary started scolding him about how he had told Gary he had finished his homework and hadn't actually. Gary made him sit down and forced Travis to take his help. Alia went over and started talking to Michelle Bulkstrand and Hope Livecombe, who had long forgotten Terry.

Terry went and found Jim Lunomen playing Exploding Snap and joined him. He eventually had smoke coming off his eyebrows and decided to turn in, knowing what teacher he would have to face tomorrow.

The morning started off as usual. Terry got up, got dressed, and got downstairs as fast as he could to get some breakfast.

He was greeted by Alia when he first entered the Great Hall. Travis was sitting down next to her and Gary was engrossed in a book called _Famous Wizards: A Guide of Moronic Feats_. Right as Terry had spooned some jam onto his toast, the morning post arrived. A screech owl flew down to Travis, with a rolled piece of parchment in its claw. Travis took the parchment and gave the owl seven bronze Knuts.

"Travis!" said Alia. "Where did you get that money?"

Travis smiled. "The day I went to Diagon Alley, my parents gave me some Muggle money and I had it converted to wizard money. I can now spend and waste my money at my leisure."

It turned out the parchment was the _Daily Prophet_. Travis had gotten a prescription to it when he went to Diagon Alley. As soon as Travis opened it, he started to read up on Bertie Bott's 45th Anniversary, an article telling the history of Bertie Bott and how he is deciding to add two new flavors: enchilada and kipper.

Terry hadn't had anymore mail. He was expecting to have at least one more belated birthday wish. It hadn't come the previous week. But it came today.

A snowy-owl came zooming in through the upper windows of the hall and flew down to Terry with one flap of its wings. Clamped in its beak was a small package and a note. He recognized the handwriting.

"It's Fraton! Fraton sent me a present!" exclaimed Terry happily.

Terry took the package and the note and read the note first.

Dear Bro,

Sorry this is coming late. Work has me swamped. Anyway, I got a letter from mum yesterday. Well done on making the Quidditch team! I had a feeling my forcing you to play would come in handy. I hope you're enjoying Hogwarts; I did when I was there. Give Snape a good kick from me.

Happy belated birthday!

Fraton

"I had a feeling I would be getting something from him soon," said Terry now going for the package. He ripped open the box to show two folded pieces of paper. He opened it and it said:

Zephryn Broom Company

This certificate shows that Terry Ollivander is now the proud owner of a Zephryn Twenty-Seven. This broom has the ability to fly at speeds of over 100 miles per hour; it has easy turning, stops on a Sickle, and go can as high as 150 kilometers. The handle is made of 100 mahogany and the tail consists of the finest ebony. This was given to the recipient by  Fraton Ollivander . Aerus Zephryn himself wishes that the recipient of this broomstick is very happy with it and will use it with pleasure.

© The Zephryn Broom Company, 2009

"I don't believe it!" shouted Alia. "A Zephryn! They're top of the range. Open the next letter."

So Terry did.

Give the certificate to Professor Granger. She can get the broom for you. Hope you really enjoy it!

Fraton

"You are one lucky person," said Alia. "I've been begging my parents for a Zephryn forever. They won't break."

"When are we going to next see Professor Granger?" asked Terry. He wanted to get his broomstick as soon as possible.

"We have her right after Transfiguration today," said Travis who wanted to get involved in the conversation.

"I'll give it to her then."

Marigold, who had heard the word "broom", came rushing over. "Did one of you just get a broom?"

"Yeah," said Travis. "Terry did."

Marigold's face lit with the light given off by a child who discovered a huge present under the Christmas tree. "What type, Terry? What type?" Her tone became more excited, more urgent. She sat down between Travis and Terry and stared Terry straight in the eye.

"A Zephryn Twenty-Seven," Terry told Marigold.

"You must use that broom in the Quidditch Cup matches!" exclaimed Marigold. "It'll be our secret weapon. We'll be unstop able."

Just as Terry was thinking that nothing could go wrong today, a very unwanted guest swept down the aisle between the Slytherin and the Ravenclaw tables.

"So, anyway, Jacelyn. Father's just wrote me and said that the manor was broken into. Nothing was taken, of course, but father now has the Ministry breathing now his neck. He have some artifacts that father doesn't think the Ministry would like"

It was Ethilina Malfoy. She was talking to her black haired friend, Jacelyn Goyle. Ethilina spotted the four Ravenclaws gathered around the box and went to investigate.

"What do we have here? Was Ollivander sent a Galleon and no one has ever seen one? Shiny, aren't they?"

Marigold stood up. "As a matter of fact, Terry was just sent a broom."

Ethilina smiled. All the Ravenclaws were confused.

"Well, I didn't think that that Irriate woman needed helpbut if Ollivander's parents insist"

Alia stood up now. "He got a _racing _broom. A Zephryn Twenty-Seven. Didn't you say you were still riding a Nimbus Thousand And One?"

Ethilina turned red. "I just hope that during the Summer, Ollivander has a place to go. His parent's probably had to sell his house, if you can even call it a house." Ethilina turned on her heel and walked toward the large doors to the Entrance Hall. Jacelyn followed her.

Marigold rounded on Terry. "When we play Slytherin, I want you to take her down!" Marigold rushed off and found Natasha Skile to tell her the good news.

Transfiguration was another difficult class. They were turning boxes into large spiders and then had to change them back.

"I wonder how soon Professor Granger can get my broom. _Achnefors!_" said Terry has he made is tiny music box sprout eight hairy legs. "Stupid thing! _Achnefors_!" The box made its complete transformation. "That's the sixth time that's happened."

"I dunno," said Travis. "Depends where it is located. _Quadrasinsum!_" His spider turned into a large metal toolbox.

The bell rang and everyone packed up their wands and they made their way to the third floor.

Once again, they were the first ones to be in the classroom. Professor Granger hadn't been there yet so they sat down and started to chat.

"Oo," said Alia, "I can't wait to see the look on Ethilina's face when she sees you on that broom, Terry. She'll have a fit."

Alia's mood only increased over the next half hour during charms. Ethilina would shoot nasty looks over to Terry, Travis, and Alia and would mouth insults at them. That day, the class was working on Drying Charms, charms to dry wet clothing, books, and other things like that. Professor Granger gave them all random things that she had dipped into a tub of water.

"No, Mr Ollivander," said Professor Granger after about a half and hour. "It's _Sicilus_, not _Siclius_." Terry hadn't made his quill any drier.

"Thanks, Professor," replied Terry. He went back to his quill. "_Sicilus!_" A jet of warm air shot out of his wand. The tiny fibers of the feather quill quivered as the warm air went by it, drying the quill.

Mrs Irriate came in midway through the class.

"Um...Hermione? I need to see you. Peeves has destroyed a candelabra on the sixth floor and we can't find the Bloody Baron. I thought that maybe if you had a word with him..."

"Say no more, Gladys. I'll come and try and deal with Peeves. But, when I was at school here we wouldn't listen to the teachers. I trust the class can take care of themselves until the end of class."

She exited the classroom and didn't return, even after the end of class.

The bell rang right after Terry got his quill dry. He packed it up along with some notes he took during the class. He looked over at Travis who had ripped his flimsy, wet piece of parchment.

The three cronies passed Professor Granger and Mrs Irriate talking and going into a door on the third floor.

"The headmaster must tell the students that Dungbombs are simply not allowed," the caretaker croaked in her normally scratchy voice. Her greasy black and gray hair was pulled back into a matted pony-tail that she was playing with absent mindedly. "I found two in my office today. I want to ban them completely."

Professor Granger looked irritated. "Gladys, you have made that request for the last eight Years. I have told Harry and he has tried to tell the students otherwise. The students here are just too thick-headed. To tell you the truth, I think Harry enjoys them. He liked them when he was at school here."

The two of them disappeared in the door.

They made their way Great Hall. Terry sat down and Travis and Alia took root on either side of him. Terry opened his bag and took out the quill he had just dried.

"Hold on," he said. "This is Professor Granger's quill. I accidentally took it."

"Well just return it then, mate," suggested Travis.

"Now?"

"Why not?" asked Alia.

Terry stood up. "Where is Professor Granger?"

"Dunno," said Travis. "Should we just go to that door on the third floor she and Professor Irriate went down?"

"Sounds best," said Alia.

Terry said "See you in a minute" to the other to went out into the entrance hall. Terry went up the Marble Staircase and up three flights of stairs into a long stone hallway lit with torches on the wall. The walls were lined with wooded doors.

Since Terry had forgotten, he used trial and error to figure out which door Professor Granger was in. He opened one door, but no luck. And another. Then the next. And the one after that. The next couple to follow. In and out. Open and shut. No luck ever. Down the corridor. Finally, after about ten minutes of just opening doors and peaking inside, he came to the last door in the corridor. He could hear voices inside. So he knocked. No answer came to this. So he knocked again but still no one came and opened the door. He opened the door a crack to poke his head in and was surprised to hear Snape's voice.

"—So I told him I didn't trust herbut Potter is just too naive. He thinks that he shouldn't accuse her until she's actually done something. The man wouldn't let me have the key and gave it to her. I asked him why and he said that he had his reasons and—Ollivander!" Snape sneered at Terry with utter disgust and horror shining in his fathomless, black eyes.

"What do you think you are doing?" bellowed Snape.

"I—I'm looking for Professor Granger," replied Terry, slightly scared. He didn't want to get on the bad side of Snape now.

"She is in her office, Ollivander," Snape spat. "_You_ however are out of bounds. Students are not allowed in here."

"Oh," said Terry. "I—I didn't know, sir."

"Clearly," said Snape with the utmost disgust. "I think," a cruel smile playing across his face, "this merits a good _detention_."

Terry's stomach plummeted. Third week into his career as a student at Hogwarts and he was already in trouble.

"I'll be back shortly, Ollivander," said Snape. He went back into the lounge and returned with a narrow slip of paper. "Now, let's see. The Arithmancy classroom hasn't been cleaned for ages. Yes, that would suffice." He handed Terry the parchment that told him that he would serve his detention on September 22.

Terry knew that he definitely didn't like Snape very much.

"What?" exclaimed Travis in indignation when Terry told him. They were on the grounds practicing spells. They had found a nice spot on the shore of the lake. Alia had climbed a beech tree, Terry was sitting on a rock, and Travis had put his feet in the water to cool them off. Each of them had books strewn around them.

"How were you supposed to know if you the staff room wasn't to be accessed by students?" asked Alia. She was shooting at a tiny flock of billywigs, blue bugs with a propeller on top and a long sting, with a Immobile Charm and watching as them fall into the lake when the propellers stopped spinning.

"I don't know," said Terry. He had been rather downtrodden since his run-in with Snape. "He was just happy he could punish me."

"I don't like this Snape bloke," said Travis. "How can Potter keep a favorite-taking-git keep on as teacher?"

"Potter trusts him...for some strange reason," said Alia with a another flick at a billywig which plummeted to the lake and was caught by a giant tentacle that shot out of the murky water and retreated back when it caught the falling bug.

"Yeah, I guess...for some strange reason," repeated Terry as he stared intensely at absolutely nothing.

A week later, around seven o'clock, he said "good bye" to Travis and Alia and head off to the seventh floor where the Arithmancy classroom was. Mrs Irriate was already waiting for him. He went into the corridor and noticed immediately that there was a major change in the scenery. All the doors had had the large locks and chains had been removed. He was pretty sure that if he had tried to unlock a door, the doorknob would not bite him.

"Hello," said Mrs Irriate bitterly. "You must be Ollivander."

Terry nodded.

"Well, I have to go off to help Mr Litterman with his detention. Boys as thick as puffapod soup. I trust you know how to clean?"

"I suppose," said Terry nervously. He did chores at his father's wand shop so he thought this would be easy.

"You'll be scrubbing the floor, cleaning the windows, shining the doorknobs, and washing the chalk boards. Understood?"

Terry was blown back. That was a bit much. He would be here for hours.

"Yes, ma'am," said Terry. He was sorry he ever knocked on the staff room door.

"Alright. You can find me on the second floor in the girls' loo," said Mrs Irriate. After she unlocked the Arithmancy classroom, Mrs Irriate indicated a bucket of water, a bottle of Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, and some towel's, and left Terry in the hallway. He went into the classroom and took the cleaning supplies.

There was dirt caked on to the window sills, the door knobs were rusty and there were pieces of chewed Drooble's Blowing Gum on them, the floors were stained with substances Terry didn't want to know what they were, and the chalkboards were covered in chalk powder that hadn't been touched in about five Years.

_Well_, he thought, _better get started_. He took a towel and the bucket of water and began to scrub the chalkboard with the wet towel. The chalk dust came off fairly easy, but when he moved over to the windows, he had to pour drops of the mess remover onto the towel and had to wash each window five times to even show any progress. That process took about two hours, and then he had to try and clean the floors.

Tile after tile after horrible brown, dirty tile had to be scrubbed. The classroom was large so this took longer than the windows. Terry's upper arms started to feel sore. After a while of kneeling on the floor, his knees started to ache too.

_How did I get myself into this_? Terry asked himself. _How did I ever get myself into this? It's torture_.

An hour later, he heard a pitter-pattering scuttle outside the classroom. He went to the door and opened it. No one and nothing was outside. All was dark and silent , but Terry could have sworn he felt like he was being watched. Terry went back into the classroom and started work on the floor again.

After three hours of rubbing the floor, he finished and moved on to the door knobs.

Just a couple of drops of Mrs Skewer's Magical Mess Remover and the rust and gum came off just like _that_.

"I guess I'm finished," said Terry to the nonexistent people in the room. He came out of the classroom and closed the door behind him. He then crossed the hall and opened the door to the Grand Staircase.

On the way down the flight of stairs between the third floor and the fourth floor, Terry heard a door slam. He looked nervously around him. Terry didn't think Snape would hear him out if he found Terry in the halls around one in the morning. He leaned over the railing on the stairs and could almost see the first floor. He gasped.

A black cloaked figure was coming out of the first floor and was coming up the stairs toward him. Terry panicked. The figure had its wand out in a menacing way. Terry tried to come down the rest of the stairs and tried to get into the third floor. The door was locked. His eyes widened.

He could hear the foot steps growing closer. Should he run for it? Head up to the seventh floor and hide?

The figure was coming up the stairs between the second and third floors. The figure's head looked up and saw Terry.

"Who's there!" yelled Terry.

The figure pointed its wand at Terry. "_Stupify_!"

A red jet of light shot from the wand and Terry dodged it by leaping out of the way and up the stairs.

Terry had to strain his brain to remember any spell he could.

"_Immobilus_!" shouted Terry. The figure waved its wand casually and the spell was merely absorbed and vanished.

"_Stupify! Stupify! STUPIFY!_"

The three Stunner spells shot at Terry and nailed him right in the gut. Terry was knocked backwards and he hit his head against the hard surface of the staircase. His vision started to go blurry and black. Soon he couldn't make out anything. Right as his consciousness was about to drift away from him, he heard the figure's footsteps running back down the stairs.

Blurry images started to swim in front of Terry's eyes. Black and gold was really all he could see. As his eyes focused, he realized that the black and gold were the hair of Travis and Alia. They were leaning over him with worried looked on their faces.

"Terry," exclaimed an ecstatic Alia when she saw he was awake.

"Thought we lost ya, mate," said Travis.

He sat up and looked around. He was in a white marble room with a dozen beds, six lined up on each wall. He looked on his bedside table. Candy and sweets were piled high on the table. Terry smiled.

"Where am I?" asked Terry.

"The hospital wing, Terry," said Alia. "You were hurt. Where did you expect Professor Potter to send you? Snape's classroom? Yeah, you'll get all fixed up there. Snape has a special brand of TLC."

Terry gave a nervous laugh.

They heard a door open and close and tall woman in a red dress and a white apron came hurrying over to him, her long, braided ponytail bouncing behind her.

"Ah, you're awake, Ollivander," said the woman. "Good, good."

Terry gave her a quizzical look. He didn't know her and he didn't want to be rude by asking "Who are you?" flat out so he just kind of stammered a hello.

"Oh, yes. Of course, I haven't introduced myself. I am Madam Treaten, the Hogwarts matron. I've been caring for you the last four days.

Four days? Had he been out cold that long? Had Travis and Alia been here the whole time?

"You gave us a right good scare," said Travis.

Madam Treaten was pouring a green liquid into a cup and headed it to Terry. "Drink that Ollivander. It's not poison. It's Revive-o-Live."

He gulped the liquid in one gulp, but wished he hadn't. It tasted like spoiled orange juice with a twinge of sweat from a sweat sock that hadn't been washed for five Years. He made gagging noises and contracted his face. Alia giggled.

Madam Treaten hurried off to her office leaving Terry, Travis, and Alia alone.

"So, what's been happening for the last four days?" asked Terry.

"Nothing much," admitted Alia.

"Oh!" exclaimed Travis. "There was one thing." He handed Terry a copy of the _Daily Prophet_.

Family Fined Five-Hundred

Basilisks, also known as the King of Serpents, have been banned from ownership ever since wizard-kind had learned what these snakes' stare is capable of doing. But, after recent Ministry of Magic raids, one of the oldest and most respected wizarding families was fined 500 Galleons for the procession of half-a-dozen Basilisk eggs.

Draco Malfoy, 37, son of the infamous Muggle torturer, Lucius Malfoy, and head of the Improper Use of Magic Office, has been leading a quiet life in the large manor his father left him with his wife, Pansy, and his daughter Ethilina. Most of us knew he had bad wizarding blood, but all had hoped it had stopped in this generation, right? You couldn't be more wrong.

Malfoy, after complaining to the Ministry about a break-in at his manor, had Ministry officials come to investigate. While Pansy Malfoy went to fetch cups of tea, the Ministry officials found a trap door in the drawing room floor. What they found wasn't pretty.

Poisons, torture devises, Dark spell books, an old black cape, a mask, some old family tree diagrams, and six unhatched Basilisk eggs.

The Malfoys were put under house arrest while members of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were summoned.

"The eggs were still alive," said Disposal of Dangerous Creatures member, Alonius Frulbert. "They were still warm and everything."

The Malfoys claim that they "had nothing to do with them and anyone that thinks so should go live in a Muggle colony." Sources tell us that Muggles do not live in colonies and that is being investigated too.

The 500 Galleon fine is only for the Basilisk eggs by themselves. This is not including the Dark books and the torture equipment. Most would go straight to Azkaban but people who know the Malfoys and wish to be unnamed say the Malfoys probably imported the eggs from Greece illegally and that they probably bought their way out of Azkaban. Our _Daily Prophet _staff thinks that horrible excuses for wizard should not be allowed to walk free and should be sent to Azkaban immediately.

"Wow," said Terry astonished. He remembered Ethilina going on about how her house had been broken into and his dad had said that Lucius Malfoy had been sent to Azkaban for being a Death Eater.

"Isn't that the best?" asked Alia with her extreme happiness back again.

"I'm still confused though," said Travis. "What is a Basilisk?"

Alia stared at him. "Are you serious?"

Travis looked annoyed. He looked back at Alia. "I'm sorry I haven't been exposed to the Wizarding World for twelve Years like you lot!" His face was turning a slow and patchy pink.

"Would it kill you to pick up a book?" asked Alia. She was turning a bit red too.

"I've been busy looking up common charms! I don't think that I would have time to look into _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find_–-"

"WOULD YOU LOT KEEP IT DOWN! MY PATIENTS NEED BED REST!" Madam Treaten had grown tired of Travis' and Alia's arguing. And indeed, some of the other residents of the hospital wing were sitting up to watch the two's dispute.

"Just calm down,"said Terry. He had opened a Chocolate Frog. He gulped the frog down and looked at the card. It had a picture of Mirabella Plunkett, a witch who fell in love with a merman and transfigured herself into a haddock. "Anyone want a frog?"

"Sure, I'll take one," said Alia, shooting one more look at Travis. She opened it and found Fulbert the Fearful inside the box.

"So, what _is_ and Basilisk?" asked Travis again.

Knowing Alia wouldn't tell him, Terry told him. "It is a giant snake that if you look it straight in the eye, you die."

"Oh, so it –- What! The Malfoys had a –- in their drawing –- they –- Ethilina," stuttered Travis. "That's probably illegal!"

"That _is _illegal," said Alia through a biscuit. "You can be punished to the full extent of wizard law."

The hospital doors were flung open and Professor Potter strode majestically into the room. He glanced around and saw Terry. He came over to the side of Terry's bed, kindness and warmth written across his face.

"Good afternoon, Mr Ollivander," said Professor Potter.

"Good afternoon, Professor," said Terry. He had no clue why Professor Potter had come to see him. Maybe he made routine checks into the hospital wing to make the residents feel better.

"I'm glad to see you're well. I'm not so glad that you were even put into this state. I'm sorry that I cannot explain that attack. But, I wonder, if maybe you could inform me what exactly happened?" He was staring at Terry intently. His dazzlingly green eyes unblinking.

Terry tried to recall the events of four days ago. He told Professor Potter about his detention, about being left alone to go back to the common room, about being going down the stairs and seeing the figure, about the figure attacking him with Stunning spells.

"I tried to distract it, but nothing doing. It sort of absorbed my spell. It then hit me with three of the Stunners right into the stomach. I fell over and passed out as the figure ran away. I don't know what happened after that."

"I didn't expect you to," said Professor Potter. Alia and Travis sat on an empty bed, not taking their eyes off Terry and Professor Potter.

"Sorry," mumbled Terry, as if it was some conciliation.

"Don't be. I have learned the hard way that you don't find out much when you don't even know if you're alive or dead. Fortunately, I know what happened immediately after you passed out.

"Professor Ferrotte was the one that found you. She had heard a commotion aside her classroom on the first floor. She hurried out and saw you on the staircase. She told me that you had been there fifteen minutes. She brought you to the hospital and came to alert me. By my own methods, I had already known. Let's just say a little birdie told me. I came hurrying to here to see if you were alright. Stunners can do things other spells cannot. I once knew an old teacher of mine who was hit with four and she was in St. Mungo's for about a week."

Terry sat in silence. He now had a renewed gratitude toward Professor Ferrotte.

"Mr Norron and Mrs Clavereaux were notified and they have been here during breakfast, lunch, and after classes," continued Professor Potter. Terry shot a gratifying look toward Alia and Travis who smiled. "I have given you a pardon from your classes, you don't need to make up any work. And, I assure you, I will try my hardest to try and find the culprit behind your attack."

Professor Potter turned his head. A scratching noise had caught his, along with everyone else's, attention. They heard Madam Treaten's hurrying pace and the hospital wing's door opening.

"What are you doing here!" they heard Madam Treaten exclaim. "Be gone with you! Shoo! Shoo! Wait –- NO!" Next moment they heard a scuttling and saw Madam Treaten come in, bent over with her arms outstretched, obviously chasing something.

"Is there a problem, Remeda?" asked Professor Potter to Madam Treaten.

"I cannot allow this animal in here. It is unsanitary for the patients. I ask you to please remove it," said Professor Treaten as she straighten up to her full height.

Professor Potter looked down at the floor, took a moment to comprehend what he saw, and looked up again to Madam Treaten and said:

"It is under my jurisdiction that this animal remain here. I promise you that she is quite trained."

Terry looked bewildered. He didn't know what "animal" had come in. Maybe Ethilina Malfoy had come to scare the patients, but all was clarified when Midnight leapt onto the bed.

"But, Professor, I –-" started Madam Treaten but Professor Potter held up a hand.

"I said," he said in a loud and over-powering voice, "the cat _stays_."

Madam Treaten raised no objections after that. She scurried off to her office, mumbling incoherently to herself about "filthy mongrels". Terry began to stroke Midnight's head and scratched her behind the ears. She closed her eyes and inclined her head toward Terry's petting hand.

Professor Potter stood up. "Well, I must be off," he said. "I do hope you get well soon. Have some Chocolate Frogs. I always find that after a draining experience, it helps. And I see one more thing that will lighten your spirits."

Terry looked over to the bed side table and saw a long slender package with the words Zephryn Twenty-Seven written on the packaging paper. He looked over to Alia and Travis. Terry guessed that they had given the note from Fraton to Professor Granger.

"I really need to go. Good afternoon, Mr Ollivander," said Professor Potter. He walked toward the doors leading out of the hospital. As he opened the door, Terry could have sworn he saw Professor Potter turn his head and give Midnight a small and subtle wink.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The Destroyed Corridor

Terry was released from the hospital wing two days later. Marigold Raymond had been very upset that he had missed two Quidditch practices and was eager to get the ball rolling again. So, Terry, Travis, and Alia were to be found in the first week of October on the Quidditch field with the rest of the Ravenclaw team, practicing long and hard to make up for lost time. It was Terry's first time to test the Zephryn Twenty-Seven.

Terry and Alia were on form. Alia had saved each team member about ten times from rampaging Bludgers. She made an amazing save when a Bludger was pelting at Natasha Skile by dropping from her broom, hanging by one hand, grabbed the Bludger with her ankles, and doing a flip to get back on her broom. She then hit the Bludger as hard as she could toward the school and didn't return for fifteen minutes.

Terry had caught the Snitch within a minute after Marigold's whistle, and caught it twelve more times afterward. The Snitch had been caught so many times that it flew lopsidedly and slowly which made it easier and easier the longer the practice drew on.

Travis, however, had been hit by a Bludger twice and the second time it uprooted him. Marigold was starting to get irritated with him. She gave him one more change in which he blew totally by hitting Marigold in the gut with his club by accident.

The Quidditch practice that evening was canceled on account Marigold couldn't breathe or speak too well. Travis had turned red and hid in the farthest corner of the changing room for about an hour. After an hour he gathered enough courage to go up to dinner.

"I don't know what my problem is," said Travis when he sat down. "I was good at playing baseball when I was in the fourth grade, but this is harder. I don't know why it is. It might be the brooms."

Alia didn't look up from what she was doing. She was rather busy sticking the _Daily Prophet_ article about the Malfoys onto her History of Magic notebook. She had had the best time waving the paper in front of Ethilina's nose when ever she saw her. The entire school had also had a good laugh when the article had come out. Ethilina would have her three friends surround her in the corridors to hide her face, but people who had seen her doing this, would offer the two boys, Trenton Crabbe and Paul Goyle, cakes. They would leave their positions leaving Ethilina exposed for ridicule and taunts.

The end of the first week of October, came wet and melancholy. Rain spattered the windows with such force that a window in the charms classroom actually cracked. Marigold took this a personal insult. The Quidditch practices were canceled do to the rain and thunderstorms. She was fuming around and yelling at Terry, Travis, or Alia when ever they looked too happy.

The homework the Ravenclaw first Years had to finish was now creeping up on Terry. He, Travis, and Alia were to be found that weekend in the library, looking up how to turn teacups into canes for Professor Dannersham. She had given it to them the day before but had given them a due date that most thought was too soon.

"Three days! _Three _days! To perfect a spell I doubt I'll even use," said an exasperated Travis who's cane still had a handle and a flowery print on it. He gave another flick of his wand and the flowers multiplies by three.

"I still can't make it wood!" remarked Alia who was flicking her wand at her cane too. "Maybe Dannersham won't mind."

"I think she might," said Terry who had already made his cane and had moved on to his History of Magic essay about the History of Hogwarts. He was looking up a point of extra credit. "Do either of you know when the different floors are cleaned?" he had asked Alia and Travis.

"Check page 493 in _Hogwarts, A History_. I think it tells," said Alia who's cane had lost its sheen and had started turning a bit brown.

Terry flipped to a page near the end of the book.

"Ok," he said. "I have them all except the seventh floor." He skimmed the page again. "Oh! Found it." He jotted down "Monday" onto his paper.

They spent another half-an-hour at the library, but got very hungry and went to lunch.

The teachers had acted differently toward Terry the first week he had been out of the hospital wing. Professor Dannersham had shaken his hand and given him a tearful embrace. Professor Granger had given him a large slab of chocolate and didn't give him homework. Professor Budman had given him full marks on a quiz even though he didn't answer three of the questions. He was pitied by Professor Elnota when he showed up for her class and was telling him how worried she had been for him. The only teacher who wasn't warm and maternal toward Terry was obviously Snape.

Even though you could trace the accident to being Snape's fault, Snape showed no remorse or pity. He had in fact given extra homework to Terry because he messed up his Silencing Solution.

"Prat," said Travis under his breath after Snape had done this and swept away. He then made a rude gesture toward Snape, making Alia elbow him in the ribs.

The second week came around sunnier and cooler. The trees around Hogwarts now dotted the grounds with majestic reds and oranges. The lake reflected the burnt-colored trees of he forbidden forest. Large crows could be see flying from the trees and gave the students a true feeling that Halloween was to be approaching soon.

If you were to watch by the vegetable patch by the greenhouses you could see pumpkins that came up to Terry's chest. Professor Budman had charmed them to grow with faces without having to carve them herself. She had also given them a charm to talk and taunt the students.

"_He he he!_" shouted a particularly large pumpkin with a tragic face. "_Methinks inkle firstie students are learning magic! I wager that the blonde haired girl over there couldn't put a dent in me!_"

"I don't need to!" Alia shouted back at the pumpkin. "I'll just wait till Halloween night when I'll be eating you and all your little buddies in a pie!"

"_You wouldn't!_" taunted the pumpkin, with mild fear in its voice.

"Wouldn't I?" said Alia, coming up to the pumpkin and waving her wand threateningly.

The pumpkin shut up then. The pumpkins who had been laughing behind it all quieted down too.

"_Isn't she a nice one,_" mumbled a happier looking jack-o-lantern as Alia triumphantly marched off.

"_Just thought I would have a bit of fun_," said the first pumpkin.

Alia didn't put up with the pumpkins too well. Every day, if she were to pass one, they would go silent. Alia had gained a reputation with the pumpkins. Since they couldn't have fun with Alia, they were extra-annoying to all the other students. Logan Renfield was to be found one day in a gaggle of pumpkins in the Entrance Hall, pummeling one that had said Logan looked like a bundimun.

Peragu Paleface had given one pumpkin an extra charm to recognize all the Slytherins. Whenever one past the pumpkin, it would stand up on root like legs and try and attack the Slytherin. He was severely punished when it gave Snape a swollen lip.

Four weeks later and the following Sunday, the students had awoken Halloween morning to the pumpkins being more aggressive than they had ever been, live bats flying around the halls, the suits of armor jumping out at students and screaming "Boo!", and being happier than they had ever been that Year.

"You know," said Travis, starting on some bacon, "Muggles celebrate Halloween too." Alia gasped and dropped her fork with a clatter, which startled Midnight who had drifted downstairs to see what smelled like the pumpkin pies that were being made in the kitchens.

"Does the Ministry of Magic know about this!" she asked urgently. "This probably flouts the International Wizarding Statute of Secrecy! We may be discovered! The entire secret wizarding world could be found and they'd all burn us at the stake. I have way too much to live fo –-"

"Alia, calm down," said Travis. "It's fine. Muggle children just put on costumes and go door to door to get as much candy as they could."

"Oh," said Alia, reassured. "I guess that's okay." She went back to her breakfast.

More pumpkins were brought in by Professor Budman and Mr Crombe. Professor Ferinis, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, had brought in more bats and let loose a ghoul for extra Halloween fun. This turned out to be a huge mistake. The ghoul ran a rampage around the classrooms and hallways. Poor Ellistris Kanteroff had not heard Professor Granger not to pass through the sixth floor and was scared out of her wits when the ghoul came across her and started to grunt and flail its arms at her.

Alia also had a run-in the ghoul. It had decided to come around the fifth floor, and as Terry, Travis, and Alia were on the way to the library. The ghoul grabbed Alia from behind, and started to babble incessantly. Alia grabbed her wand and screamed "_Locomotor Mortis!_" The ghoul's legs snapped together and it fell forward right onto its nose.

That evening, Terry, Travis, and Alia went down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. The hall was decked out in the talking pumpkins; some floating, live bats, innumerable candles, large non-popping black and orange bubbles that drifted from table to table, large withered trees, cubes of hay, and of course all the ghosts spotted in between the students eating.

Terry had never seen so many pumpkin based foods. Pumpkin cakes, pumpkin tarts, pumpkin juice marinaded chicken, pumpkin juice, pumpkin casserole, pumpkin bread rolls, pumpkin pies, and a pumpkin like ice cream float in a pumpkin shell. Pumpkins were soon going to give Terry a headache.

"It's really good, isn't it?" asked Travis, who quickly adopted his eating habits he had had at the beginning of the Year feast.

"I guess," said Alia. She wasn't used to so many pumpkin foods. She poked timidly her pumpkin casserole.

Terry helped himself to chicken and a roll. Travis had put a bit of everything on his plate and tried to see if he could down it in less than a minute. Gary had also got everything, but was eating more politely. He was talking enthusiastically to Naria Webster about wizarding politics.

"I mean, if that Fudge man hadn't had messed it up, I don't think our economy would be as slow as it is today. The goblins probably wouldn't have gone on strike in 2003 which deteriorated the entire Gringotts system. Speaking of goblins, don't get me onto the subject of Ludo Bagman!"

Naria didn't seem to really be listening. She was staring glazed eye at Gary, in a stupor that left her hand holding her fork stationary by her mouth. Gary didn't notice that his audience was wavering between comatose and collapsing with boredom.

Alia, who wasn't talk to anyone at the moment, glanced over at the staff table. Her brow furrowed.

"Wait a moment," she voiced after a while. "There are two empty chairs! Who's missing?'

Travis shrugged. Terry said, "I dunno."

"Let's see. Potter, Granger, Budman, Elnota, Soan, Irriate, Crombe, Mourn, Treaten, those five teachers I don't know, and...hold on! Where's Snape and..."

Right as she said this, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, and James and Karinthia Potter and Cole Weasley came running it.

"Dad!" yelled a very pale James.

"Mother! It's horrible!" screamed Karinthia.

Professors Potter and Granger stood up. Professor Granger ran around the staff table and met her children before they got to the staff table. Terry, Travis, and Alia were sitting in seats right next to the middle aisle, so they were able to catch what James and Karinthia were saying to Professor Granger.

"Oh, mom! I can't believe it happened!" said James.

"What happened?" asked Professor Granger.

"We were going back to the seventh floor," said Karinthia, now tearful. "We were going to put our stuff away in the dormitory and..."

James took over. "The entire seventh floor corridor has been destroyed! Turned totally upside-down! We couldn't even get to the Fat Lady through all the mess."

Professor Granger turned back to her husband. "Did you hear that, Harry?"

"I did," said Professor Potter. "Staff, come with me to the seventh floor. Prefects take your house back to –- "

Professor Potter was interrupted by the entire student body leaping up and, along with the teachers, dashing up the Marble Staircase, into the Grand Staircase, and up seven flights of stairs. They all entered the corridor, and to their horror, they found the bookcases, tables, portraits, chairs, and vases were all broken or toppled over. The portraits who were still on the wall, though lopsided, were all yelling for Professor Potter to come assist them.

"What happened here?" asked Professor Potter to a portrait.

"It was horrible, Headmaster!" said a portrait of a man with greenish skin. "We were all hanging here, minding our own business, and a cloak like figure came and tore the place apart!"

The crowd murmured.

"We screamed to for it to stop, but to no effect. It just kept destroying it. I think it was rubbing a large burn on it's arm and said 'It's not here,' as it ran away."

Professor Potter looked grim. He turned to the teachers.

"Hermione, if you..." And for the second time, Professor Potter was interrupted. The door that led to the Grand Staircase opened and Snape came swiftly into the corridor.

"Sorry, Headmaster," said Snape, walking over to him. "I was dealing with Peeves. He upturned a chandelier in the Muggle Studies department. Sir Nicholas told me where you all were."

Potter and Snape continued to talk, and were joined by Professor Granger and Professor Dannersham.

"You know that Snape did it, don't you?" said Alia. Her face was grimmer than Terry had ever seen it. The normal glitter in her eye was gone and her cheeks, ordinarily rosy, were pale.

"Yeah," agreed Travis. "The criminal _always _returns to the scene of the crime!"

"You don't know that for sure," said a Hufflepuff sixth Year boy. "It could have been anyone. What if Peeves decided to have some Halloween fun?"

Alia shot exasperated glances at the boy.

"Because," said Terry, "Peeves was off in the Muddle Studies department, destroying a chandelier. And...I heard Snape talking about some sort of 'key' when I went to the teachers lounge. Maybe, what this 'key' unlocks is up here...and he was looking for a way to open it without the key."

They all contemplated this for a while.

"You're insane," said the boy and walked away to talk to some of his Hufflepuff friends.

"He's got a point, you know," said Travis. He didn't look his normal cheerful self either. Terry had a feeling he didn't look like he had just been given roses.

"Students!" came Professor Potter's voice. "Please return to your dormitories! Teachers, please remain here." He muttered something to his wand and a large red glowing ribbon slithered out of it like a snake and warded off the far end of the corridor by the portrait of the cringing elf. He magicked away the mess so the Gryffindors could gain access to the portrait of a fat woman in a pink, silk dress.

Reluctantly, the students trudged their way back to their dormitories, all talking about what had just happened. They all went off to bed, and no one slept easy.

"What if," said Jim Lunomen from his bed in the dormitory, "the cloaked figure comes after us?"

"What if," said Davis Byrdman from his bed, "the cloaked figure is a student."

"What if," said Benjamin Strifle, "because of this Hogwarts is closed."

"What if," said Davis again, "my mother withdraws me from Hogwarts because she gets too scared."

"What if –- "

"WHAT IF," said Travis, who had propped up in his bed to scowl at the three, "YOU ALL SHUT UP SO I CAN SLEEP!"

No one spoke after that, but Terry lay in his bed, just thinking.

What had been Snape talking about when he had said the "key." The key to what? Maybe he and Travis and Alia should investigate the seventh floor. And what had burned Snape, if he was the one under the cloak? Is there a dragon or something guarding this place Snape wanted to get to.

Terry rolled over. It was way too much to be thinking about, but he couldn't help but think about it. Somehow, Terry thought that he had some clue that he just couldn't put his finger on. Somehow, someway, he might be able to solve why the seventh floor was turned upside-down.

But that was ludicrous. He was just a student in his first Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He couldn't possibly stop Snape. Partly because he had not enough experience with magic, and partly because he didn't know what Snape wanted.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The First Two Games

November came drier than October did. The Quidditch practices had resumed their usual grueling practice routine, and Marigold was all too happy to give it a helpful prod forward.

"In two days," said Marigold in the changing rooms one Monday practice, "is the first Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin! You all know what that means, right?"

"Yeah, I may lose ten Sickles Thursday," said Natasha Skile. Everyone gave a tiny snigger. Marigold wasn't pleased.

"Skile! Take this seriously. Thursday you all need to watch the players. Chasers, watch the other Chasers speed. Slytherin has good Chasers this Year, so watch out. Beaters, see if you would be able to nail anyone at any given time. Keeper! Watch the Chasers too. Ollivander, watch Potter and Malfoy. I hear they are pretty good!"

"No one will beat Terry," said Natasha. "His broom's top of the range! A Zephryn!"

The Ravenclaws around her agreed.

"And that Ethilina Malfoy," said Alia with a curled lip and flared nostrils, "is all talk. Her head is so large she's fall face first off her broom. I just hope that those Beaters Kinsburn and Walls are able to knock her off her broom with a couple good Bludgers."

"Everyone clear?" Marigold had stood up and put her hands on her hips in a conquering way.

"I suppose so," said Walt Tanes.

"I'm good to go," said Antony Handman.

"I'm ready for anything they throw at me," said Alia very enthusiastically.

"I'll try my hardest," said Terry.

"Just watch 'em! Those two teams won't know what hit them!" shouted Natasha.

The only person who didn't say anything, was Travis. He was sitting on a bench at the furthest corner. His face was gloomy and declined.

"Norron! What's the matter?" asked Marigold.

"Huh? –- Oh! It's nothing," replied Travis. But he didn't say much else. He hadn't had a very good practice. Tried to hit a Bludger and accidentally hit himself in the back with his own club. Marigold had gotten on his back about it, and he went rather quiet afterward.

Terry and Alia hated to admit it, but they had both secretly thought that Travis wasn't that good. He didn't have very good aim, he wasn't that strong, and he was a danger to himself on a broomstick.

"Well, its almost dinner!" said Marigold. "What say we head up for a good early dinner? As a team treat?"

No one raised objections. In fact, Terry, Travis, and Alia doubled back to thank Marigold and Natasha gave her a huge hug.

"Well," said Terry. "Marigold's turning out to be alright. I think –- Oh no!"

Terry had looked up into the stands. Ethilina Malfoy and her three friends were sitting in the seats, all wearing green.

"Hey there! Skile!" shouted Jacelyn Goyle. "Where'd you get that broom? Your mommy make it for you?"

Natasha was riding a very outdated broom, but walked toward the edge of the stadium without even inclining her head.

"Oy! Ollivander," shouted Jacelyn's twin brother Paul. "Be careful. With that broom you may hit something you're going too fast."

Terry now thought that Paul Goyle was rather thick. That was the worst insult Terry had ever heard.

"Hey! Clavereaux!" This time Ethilina would grace Alia with her own brand of cheerleading. "You might want to be cautious. You may mistake the Quaffle for a Bludger, try and hit it, miss and hit Norron in the head!"

The Slytherins in the stands all guffawed. Alia's face was turning red. She had almost caught up with Terry and Travis, but turned around. She mounted his broom, grabbed a Bludger and her bat, and kicked off from the ground.

"Oh, look! I think I touched a nerve!" said Ethilina. "Come to defend your friends? Come on then, Clavereaux! Bring it on!"

Alia's face glowed with a fiery flame of rage. She placed the Bludger in front of her in midair, and before it could fly in any direction, Alia pulled her bat back and hit the Bludger with all of his might. The Bludger shot at Ethilina and her once laughing now silent friends. They all ducked as the Bludger zoomed over their heads. It hovered for a moment over the spot where Ethilina had once stood, waited, and flew back to Alia who caught it.

Ethilina made a timid glance upwards.

"Ha! You missed, Claver –- OOF!"

A second Bludger had flew over from the over side of the stadium and had hit Ethilina right in the side of the head. They all glanced (except Ethilina who had toppled into the row behind her in the stands) to the side of the field to see Travis in the air, his bat in his hand.

Travis was a hero to the Ravenclaw Quidditch team for days afterward. He had definitely redeemed himself with Marigold.

"You showed that Malfoy girl!" she had said to him. Natasha, Walt, Antony, Terry, and Alia had all carried him back to the school chanting "Norron beat the moron!" while the Slytherins stayed behind to care for Ethilina. They knew she would never tell a soul that Travis had beaten her. Her pride was much bigger than the bruise on the side of her face.

"Well done!" said Natasha. She kissed him on the cheek and his face turned so red that you couldn't tell that Natasha had left a large lipstick mark on his cheek.

Thursday rolled around very quickly. That morning, Terry saw seven Gryffindors and seven Slytherins looking rather nervous. Three of them included James Potter, Jacelyn Goyle, and Ethilina Malfoy. Taylor Kinsburn and Michael Colphford, the two Quidditch captains, approached their teammates and the fourteen players exited the hall through the double doors.

The rest of the school soon followed. Terry, Travis, and Alia were close the front of the party and were able to sit in prime seats. They were in the same box as the teachers and were able to sit in the front row. Peragu Paleface would be commentating.

"Hello?" said Peragu into a large blue microphone. "Hello? Test. Test. Hello, Hogwarts! Today is the first Quidditch match of the Year! Gryffindor versus Slytherin! The teams are ready to go so I give you: The Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

The red cloaked players walked onto the field, brooms on their shoulders.

"Haroldman! Ronnald! Baum! Tonas! Kinsburn! Walls! And Potter! New to the team are Haroldman, Ronnald, and Potter, which are now the Gryffindor Chasers and Seeker!"

"And the Slytherin team!" Green players walked onto the field. "Goyle! Dale! Drensor! Stinsta! Richman! Colphford! And Malfoy! Goyle, Drensor, and Malfoy are all new additions to this team and are Chasers and the Seeker!"

"Now you two!" said Madam Soan who would be refereeing the match. She was speaking to Taylor Kinsburn and Michael Colphford, who were both Beaters. "I want a good game. If I award too many penalties, you two will regret it! Now, shake hands!"

Kinsburn and Colphford gripped each other's hand and tried to brake all the carpels in the others hand.

The teams mounted their brooms and took off. Tonas and Stinsta flew to either end of the field and took their places at the goal.

"Madam Soan is about to release the Quaffle, which will begin the game. And...they're...OFF! Chaser Baum catches it –- Passes to Haroldman –- Passes to Ronnald –- Back to Haroldman and –- oh! Hit by a Bludger –- Dale passes to Goyle and GOYLE SCORES!"

Terry, Travis, and Alia all snapped, stomped, and yelled in frustration. They were rooting for Gryffindor.

"Slytherin one to zero! Tonas passes to Haroldman –- Excellent save by Beater Jane Walls –- Haroldman passes to Baum –- Baum to Ronnald –- Ronnald to Haroldman –- Drensor intercepts! –- Drensor to Dale –- Passes to Goyle –- And...Ooh! That's got to smart!"

Jacelyn Goyle had been knocked fifteen feet out of the air by an excellently aimed Bludger from Taylor Kinsburn. Madam Treaten squirmed behind Terry and muttered something about "life threatening sports."

Redd Dale, a Slytherin Chaser, scored two times, bringing the score to thirty to zero.

"And no one has spotted the Snitch yet! Come on Seekers –- And Baum with the Quaffle –- He passes all the way down the field to Haroldman –- HAROLDMAN SCORES!" All the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws cheered. No one wanted to see Slytherin win.

The Gryffindors weren't doing too good. Carol Drensor scored again and tackled Rhonda Haroldman making her drop the Quaffle.

"Drensor to Dale –- Passes to Goyle, who has just rejoined the game –- Passes to Drensor. And –- Oh! Penalty to Gryffindor."

Michael Colphford had just struck Tony Ronnald with his bat. Ronnald took the Quaffle and scored against Yardena Stinsta.

"Slytherin in procession. Goyle –- Passes to Dale –- Over to Drensor –- Throws back to Dale –- Throws to the left and over to Goyle –- GOYLE SCORES! And what's that! Potter's seen something! He's off –- Malfoy follows!"

Terry watched James and Ethilina. They were neck and neck, and with Terry's excellent vision, he saw that James had indeed seen the Golden Snitch. He followed the two Seekers with his eyes. They wove between the Chasers and Beaters, racing, challenging each other to get to the Snitch first. Ethilina rammed James hard, and he swerved off course. As he fell behind, he grabbed the tail end of Ethilina's broom, causing her to lose the Snitch too. Unfortunately, this caused a penalty to be awarded to Slytherin. Jacelyn Goyle got the Quaffle past Tonas with ease.

"Goyle passes to Dale –- Dale to Drensor –- Passes to Goyle –- Drensor again –- Dale –- And...INTERCEPTED! Baum to Ronnald!" shouted Peragu Paleface.

"Come on, Potter!" shouted Terry.

"You can do it, James!" shouted Alia. "Show that stuck up snob what's what!"

James took these messages to heart. He put on a great burst of speed that nearly knocked Ethilina off her broom. He flew aimlessly for a while, circling the stadium.

"Come on, honey!" shouted Professor Granger with a disapproving look from her husband and Professor Snape. Karinthia Potter, who was standing next to Terry, was yelling herself hoarse.

"Go for it, James!" she hollered.

The Quaffle hadn't decided where it was going to score. It merely volleyed between teams, occasionally intercepted, and volleyed some more. James was looking left and right, almost getting a crick in his neck, searching for any sign of gold.

"He's got to catch it soon!" said Alia. Travis hadn't said much. He still didn't understand Quidditch too well.

James then shot off again. He was leaning forward, his arm outstretched. His fingers were all apart and stretched as far as they could and closed suddenly. He had caught the Snitch.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" shouted Madam Soan. Three quarters of the spectators in the stands roared with euphoria.

"Potter catches the Snitch! This gains Gryffindor one-hundred-fifty points! Gryffindor wins, one-hundred-seventy to sixty!"

All the Gryffindors rushed onto the field while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs went back to castle excited, and the Slytherins walked back, heads hung.

"It was a great game, wasn't it?" asked Alia. "I must congratulate James Potter next I see him." She glanced back at a giant red and gold mob carrying a figure above them.

"Yeah," said Terry. "He did great." He hoped when they played Hufflepuff, they didn't have such a hard time as Gryffindor did.

"Now you know what you're up against," said Marigold the next day. She took advantage of the fact Terry, Travis, and Alia had Friday afternoons off to practice.

"Yeah," replied the six other players. Marigold had been telling them about a new team move that she had gotten the idea after reading a book called _Qualifications in Quidditch _called the Corkscrew Roll.

"The Slytherins have some of the best Chasers I've ever seen. That Potter was a great Seeker. Gryffindor also has very good Beaters. Kinsburn was excellent!"

Natasha was staring at the chalk board without even seeing it. Antony had fallen asleep onto Walt's shoulder, who had glazed eyes. Alia was drawing pictures in the air with her wand. Terry and Travis were having a staring contest.

"Ollivander! You saw Malfoy? She wasn't afraid to play dirty. Watch out for her when we play Slytherin. I wouldn't be too worried about Potter. He played fair. All in all, the Slytherins are cheaters and the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs play fair. And I hope you lot play fair too!" said Marigold quite loudly.

Natasha jerked suddenly out of her stupor. Walt looked up quickly. Antony snapped awake. Alia's pictures disappeared and Terry and Travis looked over to Marigold once Travis had blinked.

"Are you all serious about this game!" yelled Marigold.

"We are serious, Marigold! We just moderate ourselves like normal people," said Natasha with an exasperated look on her face.

"You lot need to breathe Quidditch! You need to live, breathe, sleep, and eat Quidditch!"

"If I were to try and eat Quidditch," said Natasha, "I'd choke."

Marigold was in a bad mood with her teammates for a week afterward. She was short and curt with each of them until Natasha promised that the evening before their first match she would bathe in Quidditch right after she ate it with a side of gravy.

"Really silly when you think of it," said Alia the weekend before the match. "Being rude to your teammates just because they aren't as serious about the sport as you are."

"Yeah. Tell you what, go tell Marigold that. I promise that I'll visit you in St. Mungo's on weekends," said Terry. He knew that Alia would be a bloody pulp on the floor if she were to say that to Marigold.

"She is a little overzealous about Quidditch," said Travis.

"A little?" said Alia. "I bet, right now, she's kicking herself for not including "marry" on her list of things to do with Quidditch."

Five minutes later, they were up in the library reading up on curses, jinxes, and hexes. Terry had soon lost his attraction for charms. He had already learned quite a few already, and he wanted to know how to get one up on Ethilina.

"Look at this! Jelly-Leg Jinx! It makes your opponent do a sort of jig because his legs are all wobbly," said Terry.

"This looks interesting. The Disarming Charm. Knocks the wand right out of your opponent's hand."

"I like this one. A Flipping Jinx. Knocks the opponent right off their feet," said Alia.

The three of them were throughly engrossed in their books. They eventually checked out the books and used Professor Granger's empty classroom to practice. They practiced the spells on each other. They practiced Disarming first. Terry was able to Disarm Alia ten times, Alia Disarmed Travis five times, and Travis was able to get the wand out of Terry's hand twice.

"Come on, Travis. Concentrate," said Alia.

"I'm trying!" said Travis. "_Expelliarmus!_" The spell missed and flew through an open window. They heard the snap of tree branches and the fluttering of birds. Travis' spell had hit a large pine tree outside the window.

"_Concentrate_, Travis! _Concentrate!_"

"_Expelliarmus!_" bellowed Travis. The jet of red light flew through the air, struck Terry in the hand, and his wand was stripped away from him with an invisible forceful hand.

"Well done!" said Alia. She was clapping as Travis smiled broadly and Terry retrieved his wand.

"You know what? We should start practicing dueling," said Terry. "It might be fun."

"Yes, we should. I had an Uncle Certon who was a dueler. He really enjoyed his job. We can go to Mr Fulton and get some more hex, jinx, and curse books. I saw there is even a dueling section. There were tons of books."

So, half-an-hour later, they had found an empty classroom without any furniture in the way after going to the library to find more books. They spent some time looking up as many curses and hexes as possible. After another half-an-hour, they decided to face off. Terry and Alia would be fighting. They had lain out mats, just in case.

"It says here in _The Deluxe Dueling Handbook_ that you bow to each other first," said Travis.

And so Terry snapped his hands to his sides and bent over. Alia bowed nice and low with her hands twirling.

"Now, you duel!" said Travis.

Terry and Alia pointed their wands at each other.

"Let's make this quite clear," said Alia. "This is not a proper duel, so we aren't really trying to hurt each other. Any major injury is an accident."

"Alright."

"Duel, I said," said Travis.

"_Tarantallegra!_" shouted Terry.

"_Noenaeris!_" shouted Alia.

A jet of yellow light flew from Terry's wand and a jet of blue from Alia's. Alia's legs started to jerk uncontrollably and Terry had his legs picked off the ground and he fell flat onto his stomach.

"Yugh!" grunted Terry when he hit his mat.

Alia pulled out her wand. "_Finite Incantatem!_" Her legs stopped jerking and she was able to stand. Terry stood up with some difficulty.

"What was that?" asked Terry.

"A Flipping Jinx. I read it in _Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed_. You used a Jelly-Leg Jinx? It was a powerful spell. I commend you."

Alia and Terry took their positions again. They rose their wands, and Travis gave them the okay to continue.

"_Rictusempra!_" shouted Terry. The spell hit Alia and she fell forward. She was on the floor, laughing.

"That –- was –- very –- clev –- er –-,Terry," said Alia from the floor. The spell wore off after a while. She got up and hollered:

"_Iflictumper!_" Terry was hit right in the diaphragm. He was tossed backwards and landed hard on his back.

"Overturning Hex," said Alia, twirling her wand between her fingers.

"I think we better stop," said Travis who had helped Terry to his feet. "We have Quidditch in two days."

Two days later, instead of a Gryffindors and Slytherins being nervous like they had been earlier in the month, the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs were all jittery. Terry, Travis, and Alia couldn't eat a thing for fear that the butterflies invading their stomachs would force the food up again.

Once eleven o'clock rolled around, Marigold got up from her seat and moved down the table to where her teammates were congregated.

She told them to get down to the changing rooms where they all pulled on their Quidditch robes.

"Well, team," she said. "It's time. Remember, the Hufflepuffs don't have very good Chasers, but their Seeker is pretty good. Ollivander, watch out for her. Tanes and Skile, if you can get as many goals as possible and Ollivander, if you would catch the Snitch early, we will definitely have a chance."

They filed out of the changing rooms and onto the field.

Peragu Paleface's voice rang out through the field.

"Coming into the stadium now are Raymond! Tanes! Skile! Handman! Clavereaux! Norron! And Ollivander! Skile, Clavereaux, Norron, and Ollivander and now the new Beaters and Seeker!"

The crowd applauded the Ravenclaw team as players in canary yellow walked out of the changing rooms at the other side of the field.

"And now the Hufflepuffs have joined us! They consist of Renfield! Solt! Blecman! Dansure! Gatric! Abberly! And Jantile! The new additions to the team are Renfield, Solt, Blecman, and Abberly as the new Chasers and Beater."

Marigold and the Hufflepuff captain Harold Gatric shook hands, but without the menacing looks Kinsburn and Colphford gave each other in the previous match. The two teams took off into the air.

"On Madam Soan's whistle!" said Peragu.

"Three...two...ONE!" Madam Soan blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air.

"And...Raymond with the Quaffle –- Passes over Tanes –- Over to Skile –- Skile passes to Tanes –- Tanes dodges a Bludger and passes the Quaffle to..OH! Tackled by Hufflepuff Chaser Morgan Solt –- You dirty little –- Oh! Sorry –- Renfield with the Quaffle –- Passes to Blecman –- Blecman approaches the goal and SCORES! That makes the score ten to zero."

Terry zoomed around the stadium, looking for any chance of seeing the Snitch before Jantile. He made it to one end of the pitch, made a sharp swerve, and was now facing the side where Solt was scoring.

"And scores, bring the tally to twenty to zero. Blast! Anyway, point to Hufflepuff. Tanes takes possession –- Passes to Skile –- Over to Raymond –- Dodges Blecman –- Passes down the field to Tanes –- Tanes turns and he...is taken down!"

Terry continued to circle the pitch. He would occasionally pass Alia or Travis and say "Alright, there?" Once he made it half way around the stadium and crossed over. On about his third pass over, something came and rammed him hard in the chest. Hufflepuff Beater, Vincent Abberly, had hit him with a Bludger.

"Oo! Ravenclaw Seeker Terry Ollivander hit by a Bludger," Terry heard Peragu say as he tried to regain his breath.

"Terry! Are you alright!" asked Alia, flying over to him.

"Yeah," gasped Terry. "I –- I'm –- fine. Go on –- playing."

The part of Terry's chest where his sternum was positioned throbbed. He was having trouble gripping the handle of his broom. He was fearing he would just slide off the side and fall fifty feet to most certain death or injury.

"Alright," said Alia, turning her broom around. "But watch yourself." She zoomed off.

"Maybe if you had been there..."said Terry in a tiny voice.

He started moving slower on his broom. All the players around him were cheetahs compared to the speed Terry was going.

_Who knew a Bludger could do so much damage?_ he thought to himself.

As he was cruising around the stadium, directly under the staff box in the stands, Terry saw, maybe twenty feet away, a tiny flicker of gold as the sun hitting a shiny ball and silver wings. The Golden Snitch was hovering right underneath Harold Gatric, the Hufflepuff Captain and Beater.

He continued to cruise, as not to bring attention to himself. If Janet Jantile were to see him darting off after something, she would know what he was doing. So, he kept on going slowly toward the Snitch.

_Don't go anywhere_, said a voice in his head. _Don't shoot off and I have to go find you again_. But, sure enough, when he was five feet away, the Snitch changed its mind and flew off to the other side of the field.

He would never be able to catch it this way. He'd have to hope that if Jantile were to catch it, Ravenclaw would be at least one-hundred-sixty points higher than Hufflepuff. His ribs hurt. He thought that maybe something had broken.

He chanced an attempt to go a bit faster. It didn't hurt at all. (At least, it didn't make it worse) He went even faster. Then faster. And then faster still. His chest didn't get any worse, and his chances of catching the Snitch before Jantile got better.

When Terry had put on his last acceleration attempt, he saw the true power of a Zephryn Twenty-Seven. It was a downright fast broom. Faster than he had ever seen. He went off in the direction of where the Snitch had been.

Sure enough, the Snitch had come to rest in the air by the middle Hufflepuff goal post. He started to go even faster. The wind whipped his face. Strands of blurry golden yellow where flashing in front of his face because his hair was flying everywhere.

He was ten feet away when the Snitch made another turncoat decision. It flew off in the opposite direction, but Terry was ready for it. The Zephryn made sharp turns easy and smooth. He made a quick about face and pursed the Snitch. The Snitch zigzagged back and forth, weaving through the other thirteen players, making a tiny pattern in its flight.

From above, an unwanted visitor literally dropped in on Terry and the Snitch. Jantile had noticed Terry and was in hot pursuit of the Snitch along side Terry. Terry tried to go faster, but Jantile would just mimic him.

They were flying close to the ground. They was no shaking Jantile off. Terry couldn't think of any way to lose her without losing the Snitch. When he and Jantile made a wide turn to face the other end of the field, and idea struck him like the Bludger had.

Terry slowly pushed himself off his broom, and came to stand on it. He was having trouble balancing, but he had to stay on for just another moment, or else his plan would be ruined. So, with great courage and wit, Terry shoved his feet from his broom, and flew through the air. He started to fall, but he was falling right where he wanted to: right over the Snitch.

When Terry hit the ground, he realized his plan had worked. Under his stomach, he felt the fluttering of wings. He had the Snitch.

"An _amazing_ catch made by Terry Ollivander, Ravenclaw Seeker. Jumped from a moving broom to catch the Snitch. The score now is 200 to 40! Ravenclaw wins!"

Back at the Ravenclaw common room, no one could leave Terry alone. He had been a house hero. Peragu had once again stolen treats from the kitchens. Travis and Alia were so happy to have one. Marigold Raymond had told Terry she was thinking of writing her parents and seeing if they would adopt Terry. Michelle Bulkstrand and Hope Livecombe had suddenly thought Terry was the center of the universe like they had at Terry, Travis, Alia's party for making the team. They wanted pictures and autographs and they didn't go away until Alia shooed them off.

"They just follow fads," Alia informed Terry. "They used to wear dragon hide back in 2013. Imagine, dragon skin dresses. They must have looked like total berks."

Terry was just about to snigger, when five different pairs of hands came from the large mob in the middle of the room and grabbed Terry by the shoulder and jerked him into the crowd. He was bombarded with questions to recap the match from his perspective. He would shoot glances over to Travis or Alia, plainly looking for a good outlet to try and exit. Unfortunately, every time he tried to break away, more people would grab him and bring him back.

"We can't help you," mouthed Travis silently.

"We would if we could," mouthed Alia.

"Well, I was just flying around..." started Terry.

"'Just flying around,' he says," said Marigold Raymond. "So modest."

"Right..." continued Terry nervously. "Then, I was hit by a Bludger."

The entire crowd gasped. "Are you alright?" some asked. "Did you have to go to the hospital."

"I was fine. It just knocked the wind out of me." Terry was starting to feel claustrophobic. The mob around him was slowly closing in. "I flew around some more, and I eventually caught up with the Snitch. Janet Jantile caught up too, but I jumped from my broom and caught it."

"I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that before!" shouted a fourth Year boy.

"I wonder if he broke a record!" yelled his friend.

"Terry, were you trying to be cool or did my training help you?" asked Marigold. No one answered her for Terry had taken that opportunity to run from the crowd went over to Alia and Travis.

"Close one, mate," said Travis. "They were about to kill you."

"They are making a bit of a fuss," commented Alia. "It's just one Quidditch game. Notice that they're playing the most attention to Terry just because he's Seeker, no offense, Terry."

"None taken," said Terry flatly. He really didn't care if anyone called him a rude name. He just wanted to get away from the mass of people.

"Marigold is thoroughly enjoying herself," said Alia.

Terry glanced over at Marigold.

"Taught him everything he knows! That jumping routine was my idea," said Marigold. "The Falmouth Falcons have been writing my house, wanting my coaching. In two Years I may go join them."

"She's lying. She's only sixteen-Years-old," said Alia.

"Well, I don't know," said Terry. "She has this Year and the next and then she's out of Hogwarts. She may already have picked her career."

"What do you want to be, Terry?" asked Alia.

"Huh, never thought about it," replied Terry. "I kinda wanted to be a Healer like my brother."

"Well," said Alia, "I want to be a professional dueler. My Uncle Certon convinced me when he won this _huge _trophy. I wanted one just like it."

"Well, you did a good job Sunday," said Travis.

"Oy, Terry!" yelled someone from the crowd.

"Oh, ruddy gits," exclaimed Terry. He ran as fast as he could up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

He was safe. Safe from all the people down there insisting he get tipsy from drinking twenty-three butterbeers. Safe from Marigold trying to say she was Terry's inspiration. Safe from the loud noise and people, which he couldn't stand.

Five minutes later, Travis and Alia came up to the dormitory.

"What did they want?" asked Terry. He was sitting on his bed with Midnight, using a Levitation Charm to control the model Snitch he received from Travis and have it become a toy for Midnight.

"Pictures," said Travis sitting on his own bed. "They really are making a big deal out of this."

"They just want an excuse to have a party," said Alia sitting down next to Terry and started to pet Midnight.

"Yeah," said Terry. "I heard Peragu Paleface saying that he wanted to outdo his uncles who threw twenty parties when they were here."

"They sound like the Weasley brothers," said Alia.

"They _were _the Weasley brothers," told Terry. "They are some distant relative."

Alia glanced over to a grandfather clock.

"It's late. I want to go to bed. 'Night all!"

"'Night!" said Terry and Travis. Alia left the dormitory and went to her own.

"We should go to be too," said Travis. He took off his robes and donned his pajamas. Terry followed suit and climbed into bed.

He was exhausted from the day's events that he went to sleep immediately.

Terry was in the round stone room again. Seven holes in the walls with a different colored glass sphere in each. He was facing toward a hole with a black sphere and something was telling him to take it. He reached his hand forward, and like before a dark red weasel leapt out at him. This time, however, it missed. It flew right over his shoulder. Terry took out his wand and he felt a warmth. An unexplainable warmth...something like...you would feel in your happiest memory. His wand started to glow and he pointed it at the weasel. A furry thing shot out and charged the weasel down. The weasel lay on the floor, motionless. Terry looked around. On the ground, unconscious, were a lion and an eagle.

Terry woke with a start, and once again, forgot the dream with in a second.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Christmas at the Wand Shop

December came very cold. The next day, December 1st, came with a drastic climate drop from the previous day. A majority of the students came down with colds, but Madam Treaten, using a potion she learned from her mother, was able to cure it but left the drinker with steam coming out their ears.

Terry, Travis, Alia, and the rest of their friends had a very large enchanted snowball fight against each other, boys against girls. Ellistris Kanteroff was nearly buried in snow by Jim, but the combined forces of Alia, Natasha, Marigold, Hope Livecombe, Ellistris, and Michelle Bulkstrand were able to knock Terry, Travis, Gary, Peragu, Walt, Antony, Davis, Jim, and Benjamin. Alia had fun gloating about this for weeks to come.

In the second week, Professor Granger took names of students who would be staying for Christmas. Terry didn't sign. Neither did Travis or Alia. Terry had receive a letter from his mother.

Dear Terry,

I wanted to write you to tell you that your father and I are expecting you home for Christmas. He and I have a surprise for you when you get here. Don't pack up too many belonging, because you'd be back in five weeks. You're father is okay, but he is in a cast because he fell off a ladder, trying to get a wand on a top shelf. He'll be alright, but he'll be hobbling around for about a week. Take care of yourself

Mum

"My mother told me to come home too," said Alia. "My Aunt Regina is coming from Atlanta." They were enjoying the last bit of time together as best they could by performing some more dueling practice.

Alia had gotten very good at the Flipping Jinx. Travis had started only a week ago and quickly adapted a Perplexing Hex as his shtick. Terry thoroughly enjoyed using the Spinning Hex, causing Alia or Travis to spin uncontrollably, obscuring their aim.

Gary soon wondered where they were at hours at a time, and followed them to their favorite practice room. Once he learned what they were doing, shockingly, offered to help them. He had taken a more advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, and knew more spells.

He first taught them how to perfect the Disarming Charm. He was able to teach Travis quite a bit, and Travis disarmed Alia nine times. In Alia and Travis' first duel, Travis had Alia wandless and thinking she was Doris Derangford because of the Perplexing Hex he had used.

"I want to practice when I get home!" said Travis. "My parents would be interested."

"I wanted to do that too," said Gary. "First off, you would get a nice letter from the Improper Use of Magic Office. Secondly, mum and dad aren't interested."

"You all packed?" asked Alia the second Saturday of the month; the last day they would be at Hogwarts before the train.

"No," said Travis. "I can't find my second pair of robes." He was digging through his trunk, throwing things willy-nilly all over the place.

"You should have packed yesterday, like us," said Terry. "I have everything packed already. I still have to find a way to get Midnight into her cage without getting mauled." He glanced over at a gray bundle was staring at him piercingly.

The next day, Terry, Travis, and Alia put their luggage by the large oak doors and went into the great hall for breakfast. The Hall was decked out in a dozen splendid pine trees covered in magical crystal frost and draped in holly. Large garlands with mistletoe and ivy were streamed across the enchanted magical endless ceiling, where dry, warm, bewitched snow was falling.

Terry and his friends sat down and helped themselves to bacon and eggs.

"You know," said Gary, "the decorations are better on Christmas day. I stayed here for Christmas last year. Decorations, food, and crackers were great! I wish I was staying, but Travis and I are going to go see our Grandma Vieille in Sheffield."

At around ten o'clock, the students who were going home lined up at the gates flanked by two winged boar statues. Near two hundred were all in a large mob, and eventually fifty carriages pulled up and in fours and fives, the students climbed into the carriages.

Terry, Travis, and Alia shared a carriage with Gary and Naria Webster, who both sat together. Travis sniggered most of the way down to the train station in the village. They got out when they reached the village and waited some more for the train. It pulled in at ten thirty and the students climbed on and found a good compartment.

Terry, Travis, and Alia found a compartment near the middle of the train and Natasha Skile joined them since there weren't any other good seats. They played Exploding Snap and Wizard Chess, and were glad that Marigold wasn't there, when they started doing impressions of some of the teachers and notable students, including Marigold.

"Skile, if you could go three times around the stadium, " imitated Natasha. "Clavereaux, if you could do a hand stand on your broom. Norron, if you could fall from your broom and see if it will catch you. Ollivander, if you could spit shine my shoes. Everyone clear?"

Just then, Marigold came in. Natasha froze. Terry and Travis stopped laughing. Alia pretended to drop her wand and went to retrieve it, but never came back up.

"Hello, everyone!" said Marigold. She obviously didn't hear what they had just said. "Listen, if you could buy _Quidditch Through the Ages_ over the holidays and read it as best you can. There are some moves in there I want to practice. Everyone clear?"

"S –- sure," said Natasha. Travis started sniggering again.

"Right," said Marigold. "I need to go back to my compartment. Have a good Christmas!"

Marigold left the compartment. Terry, Travis, Alia, and Natasha all breathed again. They stuck to making fun of teachers from that point on, for fear that who ever they were impersonating would barge in as Marigold just had.

Day turned to evening and an announcement come over the speaker telling them they would be at King's Cross in five minutes, and to change into their Muggle clothes.

Alia and Natasha went into the aisle as Terry and Travis changed, and they did the same when the girls changed. Alia was wearing her sunflower dress and her sun hat and Natasha had a wooly winter cap, a navy jacket, and some jeans on.

Five minutes later, they were stepping off the train onto the dim dusk on platform nine and three-quarters. It was dim and snowy, just how Terry liked his winters. They picked up their luggage, found a trolley for each of them, and went to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. A furtive-looking old wizard let them go through in twos and threes, as to prevent Muggles seeing two hundred teenagers come flying out of nowhere.

Once back in the Muggle World, Terry spotted his parents immediately. His father was back in his dotted shirt, striped blazer, green pants, and plaid tie. His mother was in a pink evening dress. They waved and he waved back.

Alia saw her parents (two very thin people who had a better since of Muggle fashion), said "Merry Christmas!" to Terry and Travis, and darted off to hug her mother.

Travis saw his parents not long after and went to join them. Terry then went over to his parents.

"Hello, sweetheart!" exclaimed his mother. She hugged him. "Have a good term?"

"Yeah, it was great," said Terry. He grinned at them. He noticed that his mother and father were on pins and needles. "What's up?"

"We've got a surprise for you at home," said Mr Ollivander, positively glowing.

"You'll love it, Terry," said his mother.

Terry gave them worried glances, but went along with it. He followed them with his trolley to a stop sign, where Mr and Mrs Ollivander stopped abruptly.

"We're meeting someone here," said Mr Ollivander. "He's got some Floo powder we can borrow." Just then, a man in a muddy yellow raincoat walked up to them.

"Evening, Magnus!" said the man.

"Alright there, Phil?" asked Mr Ollivander. They obviously knew each other.

"Fine as I'll ever be," replied the man. "Ah! Gloria! Nice to see you! And, young Terry. How was term?"

"Fine," said Terry. He felt odd talking to a man he didn't know and acting like they knew the other.

"Terry, this is Mr Milkswurth. He works at the Department of Magical Transportation at the Ministry of Magic. He is kind enough to escort us to a restaurant that is wizard friendly and has a fireplace in the back."

"Oh –- hello," said Terry, still feeling a bit awkward.

"Well, let's get started," said Mr Milkswurth.

"Where is the restaurant, Phil?" asked Mr Ollivander. He glanced around, still anxious to get Terry home and show him the surprise.

"Just there," said Mr Milkswurth. He pointed to a tiny café with pink drawn back checkered curtains in every window. They walked to the café and opened the door. As they entered, a bell dinged. The restaurant spelled of fresh brewed coffee and the floor matched the curtains.

A woman came out of a back room with puffed up blonde hair and the same pattern as the floor and curtains on her dress. She was smacking as she chewed gum and her lower jaw resembled the chewing motion of a cow. Her name tag read Flo.

"Whaddya want?" she asked with a cynical glance at them. Terry noticed her nails were very long and could only be matched in length by her eyelashes.

"Yes, we'd like to use your fireplace," said Mr Milkswurth with a highly implying look.

"Oh! Yous must be the Ollivander party! Imagine. Yous all wizards. Yous fake being Muggles well," she had smiled. "Except for you," she added looking at Mr Ollivander.

She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a wand. "I was saying to my boyfriend, Biff, the other day," began the woman as she made flicks with her wand at the curtains and they drew closed, "he needs to actually see a Muggle, because, he doesn't really knows hows they dress. He once went to this Muggle party with these real sophisticated Muggles, and he went dressed in a pair of overalls and a button down shirt! Ain't that the funniest thing!"

Mr Milkswurth looked annoyed. "Hilarious," he said flatly. "Look, can we use the fireplace or not?"

"Oh! Touchy, touchy!" said the woman. "Alright! If yous are all gonna be impatient, I guess yous can go now."

She led them to a back room then spells oddly of weed killer. There was a run down fireplace in the wall across from them. Mr Milkswurth pulled out a leather pouch from out of his rain coat and opened it. He offered it to Mrs Ollivander, who drew out her wand, murmured "_Incendio!_" and blue fire appeared in the grate.

Mrs Ollivander grabbed a handful of some powder out of the pouch, handed the pouch to her husband, and threw the powder onto the flames which turned emerald. She stepped in and said "Number 27, Diagon Alley!" The green flames shot up, covering Mrs Ollivander. In an instant, she was gone.

Mr Ollivander offered the bag to Terry next. The blue flames were still crackling and he threw the powder on them and turned them the green color again. He stepped in and felt the warmth of the green flames.

"Number 27, Diagon Alley!" he said. The green flames surrounded him, blocked his father and Mr Milkswurth from sight, and he felt himself whizzing upward. He was flying at top speed. He saw into some wizarding houses as he past them. A woman was charming a pot to make it cook food itself –- _whoosh! _–- Five old wizards where playing cards –- _whoosh! _–- A house elf leapt back as it found laundry on the floor –- _THUD!_

Terry fell forward into his kitchen and almost face planted against the hard hearth. He looked up to see his mother brushing dirt off her dress.

Terry got up and moved out of the way. His father would be arriving any moment and he didn't want to be hit. He went to their wooden kitchen table and sat on a wooden stool. Two seconds later, Mr Ollivander arrived with Terry's belongings. Midnight was shocked. She stared blankly out of her cage.

"Right, then," grunted Mr Ollivander, putting down Terry's truck and letting Midnight out. "Time for that surprise!" He said that rather loudly as he and Terry were just feet from each other. But Terry soon knew why he had been speaking so loudly.

Tall and slender, a man walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He was wearing a green T-shirt, a denim vest, a necklace with a rusted old Knut dangling from it, and jeans. He had ovally glasses he wore at the end of his nose and is colored crimson hair was combed back into a tiny ponytail in the back.

"Need help, father?" asked the man. Terry hadn't seen him for three Years, but there is some odd connection that all siblings have, that you can be apart for fifty Years, and still be able to recognizable to the other. Terry's older brother, Fraton, had come to stay for Christmas.

"Fraton!" cried Terry. "What are you –- "

"I was promoted at St. Mungo's," said Fraton "I have an easier work schedule now so I can come and visit more often, little bro. Anyway, need help?"

"No, Fraton. I think I just about got it," said Mr Ollivander sitting down at the table too. Mrs Ollivander swept back in, once again dressed in her robes, carrying four tankards of butterbeer. She set a butterbeer down in front of each person and then sat down and began to drink her own.

"So, Terry, how're you enjoying that broom I sent you?" asked Fraton taking a sip of his butterbeer.

Mrs Ollivander almost spat out what she had just drank. She gulped hard.

"Fraton, you didn't!" said Mrs Ollivander.

"I did! Is there something wrong with that?" asked Fraton. He was more laid back than his parents.

"It's just –- it's rather expensive, isn't it?" asked Mrs Ollivander. "I hope you didn't get him anything too fancy."

"I bought him a Zephryn," said Fraton. "I always wanted one back when they still made Zephryn Nines, so I thought Terry would like a Zephryn Twenty-Seven."

"Honey, I'm not saying it wasn't a nice gesture, but where did you get the –- "

"I told you," said Fraton. "I got a promotion at work. I get loads more now. This month I raked in nine hundred and fifty Galleons. I plan on going to go on holiday for a while now I have all this loot." He put his hands behind his head and leaned back so that only two of the chair's legs were touching the ground.

"Well, alright," said Mrs Ollivander. "Since Terry is on the team...he can keep it."

"So, you never did answer my question, Terry. How do you like it?" asked Fraton.

"It's great. I won my first match on it," Terry told them.

Mr and Mrs Ollivander both looked very impressed.

"Way to go, Terry!" said Mr Ollivander, leaning over to clasp Terry's shoulder. Fraton had put all his chair legs down and shook Terry's hand.

"That's wonderful, Terry! What house were you up against?" asked Mrs Ollivander.

"Hufflepuff," said Terry. "My friends are on the team too."

"That's really great," said Fraton. "I never found out. What house are you in?" asked Fraton.

"My friends and I made it into Ravenclaw," said Terry.

"Same house that I was in when I was at Hogwarts," said Mr Ollivander. "You were in Hufflepuff, weren't you, dear?" Mr Ollivander asked to Mrs Ollivander.

"Yes. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," said Mrs Ollivander with a smile.

"I was a Gryffindor," said Fraton. "I would have had to write to Potter if the hat had put you in Slytherin. Had any run-ins with the Slytherin folk?"

"Only a few," said Terry. He was thinking back to all the times Ethilina Malfoy had tried to trick, provoke, tease, banter, curse, and insult he, Travis, and Alia.

Terry had been requested to tell his family all about the last three months at Hogwarts. He told them about his teachers. He told them about Quidditch. Then, he moved into darker subjects. Like his confrontation with the cloaked figure. He also told them about how the seventh floor was destroyed on Halloween.

"Are you serious?" asked his mother. "Has Professor Potter done anything."

"I don't know if they is anything he really can do," said Mr Ollivander. "You can't really trace a cloaked figure. There probably weren't any witnesses in the corridor when it was destroyed."

"I'm just glad you're alright, Terry. I don't know what would have happened if that cloaked figure had hurt you too bad," said Mrs Ollivander. She looked very worried.

"Did anything like this happened when your sister taught at Hogwarts?" asked Mr Ollivander. Mrs Ollivander thought for a moment.

"There was that incident with that stone that Albus Dumbledore was hiding. A Year after that, students were being attacked. A murderer was on the loose a Year later. A boy died the Year following. Then this horrible woman came and taught at the school and was attacked by centaurs. She and my sister didn't get along too well."

"I guess," said Fraton standing up, "you just can't go to Hogwarts without weird things happening. I'm hungry, mum. What's for dinner?"

"Chicken legs," said Mrs Ollivander, standing up too and going over to the stove while Fraton sat back down. She brought back over four plates and a large dish of grilled chicken legs. She placed two or three legs on each plate and also used a Summoning Charm to make a bowl of potatoes fly over to her. She spooned large globs of mashed potatoes onto the plates and distributed the plates between her family.

"Tuck in!" said Mrs Ollivander. She sat down and began to eat.

During the duration of dinner, the Ollivanders moved on to more pleasant subjects. Terry told more about Alia and Travis, Fraton told a story about a patient he had had recently had who hit himself in the eye with a Curling Charm while he was getting ready for a funeral. Mr Ollivander told them business what booming and Mrs Ollivander said that Terry's aunt had found work since she was fired three Years ago.

After dinner (and a little dessert), Fraton and Terry played Wizard Chess while Mr Ollivander read the _Evening Prophet_ and Mrs Ollivander knitted a large blue and grey scarf.

"Checkmate," said Terry. One of his pawns had jumped on the back of Fraton's king and was wrestling him to the ground.

"It's not over yet, bro!" said Fraton. "Come on! He's only a pawn! Take him down!"

All of Terry's pieces had dived on the struggling pair and Fraton's king collapsed.

"You haven't a chance of coming back now, Fraton. Admit it! You lost," said Terry.

"I think its high time you all went to bed," said Mr Ollivander, putting the _Evening Prophet _and looking at them. He got up himself and stretched. Mrs Ollivander knitted herself to a stopping point and got up to. Terry and Fraton cleaned up the remains of the chess pieces, Fraton used a Repairing Spell to fix them, and they stood up.

"I'm going to go to bed," said Fraton. "See everyone in the morning!" Fraton climbed the stairs to the upstairs bedrooms. Terry heard a door close upstairs.

He said goodnight to his parents and went upstairs and went into his old room. His father had brought his luggage up and Midnight was sleeping on Terry's bed. He put his wand on his bed side table, and turned on an old fashioned oil lamp. He went and sat back at his bay window. Midnight scurried across the dusty wooden floor to join him.

It was hard to believe that about five months ago, he had sat here, friendless and bored, and now, two weeks before Christmas, and he had more friends currently than he had ever had in his life.

His brother had come just to see him. His parents were finally proud of him. He used to think (you came into the story after this) that he would never amount to anything. He would just stay at the wand shop for the rest of his life, and watch witches and wizards his age be qualified wizards, and he would stuck up in his room.

He got up and carried Midnight to his bed. He set her down and he climbed in. He leaned over and turned off the lamp and made himself more comfortable in the bed. He rolled over onto his side and fell asleep.

In a week and a half, Terry, Mr Ollivander, and Fraton all headed down the snowy street of Diagon Alley, away from the Leaky Cauldron, to the furthest part of the two strings of wizarding shops. At the very end of Diagon Alley there is a tiny wood full of pine trees. Terry and Fraton liked to look into all the shops with all the different magical objects.

When they reached the wood, Mr Ollivander let Terry and Fraton loose to find the perfect Christmas tree. Fraton found one that came up to his waist but was vetoed by Mr Ollivander. Terry found one that was twelve feet tall and six feet around. Terry was shot down too. But, both Terry and Fraton found a tree about eight feet tall and perfectly shaped and groomed.

With a simple Severing Spell, the tree came crashing down. Mr Ollivander and Fraton carried it back to the wand shop. Mrs Ollivander had gone up to the attic and found six boxes of Christmas decorations that the Ollivanders had owned since Fraton was born. Mr Ollivander and Fraton erected the tree in the actual shop.

Terry and Fraton were left to their own devises to decorate the tree. Mr and Mrs Ollivander went over to Madam Malkin's shop to visit and chat.

Fraton conjured up magical, non-popping, light filled, multi-colored bubbles that Terry draped on the trees. After a run to the Magical Menagerie, they were able to conjure more bubbles and put live fairies in them. Terry dug into one of the boxes and found a large collection of candles. Fraton lit them with neutral temperature blue, red, yellow, and silver fire and placed them strategically on the tree. When the body of the tree was glowing with all sorts of colors, Fraton magicked a tiny star, not a five point star, an actual tiny star, and hovered it to the top of the tree.

When Mr and Mrs Ollivander returned, they were surprised to find the tree already decorated and that it was decorated so well. Mrs Ollivander put on a pot of tea and as evening drew closer, Fraton and Terry went for a stroll around Diagon Alley.

They noticed all the stores around them were closing as they passed a second-hand clothes store, a restaurant, and the office where the _Daily Prophet_. They eventually stumbled on Weasley Wizard Wheezes: Jokes of All Kinds. Two red-headed men who were obviously twin brothers where cleaning up and counting the days profits.

"Shall we go in?" asked Fraton, twitching his head toward the shop. A mischievous smile playing across his face

"Why not?" asked Terry, adopting the same smile. That type of smile can only be achieved two ways: play more than fifty practical jokes (how the Weasley twins attained it) and genetics (how Fraton and Terry came to share it).

A tiny bell dinged as Fraton and Terry entered, like most shops at Diagon Alley do.

"Ah, it's are best customer!" said one of the men. A large "G" printed on a pointed wizards hat perched diagonally on his red hair. His robes were an electrifying green and a purple vest rested on top of it.

"Fraton! Who are you?" asked the second man. His robes and vest had switched colors, his hat was set in the other direction, and he had a "F" on his hat.

"I'm doing well, gents. How's business," asked Fraton.

"Booming as usual," said the second man.

"We just invented Optical Obstacles so kids have nearly torn the place apart," said the first man.

"What are Optical Obstacles?" asked Fraton.

The first man reached behind the counter and pulled out a pair of innocent looking glasses.

"This joke only works on people with glasses. These glasses, though look ordinary –- " said the first man

"–-Really are a load of laughs. You simply switch these glasses for the real ones –- " said the second man.

"–-And when they put the glasses on, they can't see things that have been charmed to be obstacles. The person wearing the glasses will either trip over –- "

"–-Or run into –-"

"–-What ever's in their way. It makes them look like a total git," ended the first man. Fraton took his glasses off and cleaned them nervously on his shirt.

"Well, I'll –- uh –- I'll keep that in mind, George," said Fraton, putting his glasses on again.

"Who's this?" asked the second man, indicating Terry.

"Oh! This is my younger brother, Terry. He just started at Hogwarts"

"Ah, Hogwarts," said the second man.

"Good times, eh, Fred?" asked the man called George Weasley.

"I loved it there," said George's brother, Fred. "Two of our nephews go there, don't they, George?"

"Yes, they do," said George. "Maybe you know them, Terry. Cole Weasley and Peragu Paleface?"

Both the names rang a bell. "Yeah. I know Cole as an acquaintance. Peragu has so far thrown me two different parties," explained Terry. "Peragu's trying to outdo you two."

"Is he now?" asked George. His face was in interested surprise.

"I knew we shouldn't have told him about the twenty parties we threw," said Fred.

"Went to his head, it did," said George. He sighed.

"At least he didn't turn out like Percy, eh, George?" said Fred, elbowing George. "Cornelius Fudge's assistant and now he's Plura Pulicidaus'. He's a ruddy suck up."

"Out of seven children, he has to go off and be important and leave us in the dust. Poor Ginny has been so upset. She even wrote a song to tell Percy how much of a scum bucket he is."

Terry awoke Christmas morning to the smell of pine nettles, baking ham, and holly. He crept downstairs, still in his pajamas, with his shadow-like cat companion close behind him to find the Christmas tree completely surrounded by large, colorful, wrapped boxes with different patterned bows and ribbons.

"Merry Christmas!" said his mother when she had spotted him. "Have a spot of breakfast, then we can all open presents."

Fraton came down the stairs. He looked wide awake and was full of energy.

"Morning, all!" said Fraton with enthusiasm. "Time for gifts?"

"No, honey. We're going to eat first. Just sit down at the table and I'll make you a plate," said Mrs Ollivander.

Fraton sat down and bade Terry a good morning. He pulled out his wand and sort of flicked it. Christmas carols erupted from Fraton's wand and filled the entire house with holiday cheer. "What's Christmas without music?" asked Fraton, tucking into his bacon and eggs.

Mr Ollivander came in from the shop, looking tired but cheerful.

"Just had a tricky customer," he sat down next to Fraton. "Some kid broke his wand trying to curse his mother when she bought him a pair of socks for Christmas. The curse didn't work so he threw his wand at her and missed. It the wall and snapped in half. I tell you, I know plenty of people that would love a pair of socks for Christmas!"

"Do you?" asked Mrs Ollivander skeptically. "How many?"

"Well –- er –- really, only one. But he would go crazy if you were to give him the socks," said Mr Ollivander.

The Ollivanders whipped through breakfast and were helped along by the youngest two of the bunch rushing their parents to finish up to get to opening presents quicker. Eventually, Mr and Mrs Ollivander finished their food and Terry and Fraton made an unceremonious beeline to the Christmas tree.

Terry found six gifts with his name on them. The first was from his parents. They had given him a spell book called _Charms to Live By: 101 Most Commonly Used Charms_. Fraton, Travis, and Alia had all given him a gigantic stock of sweets and candies to last him three terms. From his Aunt Sibyl, he received another book called _The Worst and Frightening Wizarding Futures._ His last gift under the tree was from his cousin Valizzia and his Grandmother. They had given him something called a Cogitater. It was a devise that looked like a coin. You put in your pocket and it was supposed to help you figure out things better.

"I don't believe that's true," said Mrs Ollivander. "No devise can make people smarter."

"You'd be surprised, mum," said Fraton. "Grandma gave me one of those when I started Hogwarts. I swear, I wouldn't have gotten those ten O.W.L.s without it in my pocket."

"Terry!" said Mr Ollivander when he opened his gift from Terry. "You didn't have to do this!"

Terry had bought his father a wireless. It of course was different from a Muggle one, as it catered to the wizarding community exclusively.

"I had too," said Terry. "All the times I had to work in the shop with no music. I don't know how you withstand it," joked Terry.

"Thank you," said Mr Ollivander.

Terry had given a gift to his mother too. A spell book called _Household Charms: Take Over Your Home or Flat with Magic_ by Aboding Hartford. Fraton had gotten a t-shirt with the words "the Weird Sisters" printed on it. Terry also threw in some Optical Obstacles. He had sent Fraton's owl, Barer, with sweets to his friends. Travis had also received from Terry a book called _Bowled Over by Beaters._ Alia, along side the candy, had been sent a signed poster of the Sweetwater All-Stars he had found at Quality Quidditch Supplies. His mother picked out the gift for Aunt Sibyll and Valizzia and just put everyone's name on it.

Fraton was now wearing his Weird Sisters shirt and tripped over bricks that Terry had also purchased from the Weasley twins for his own enjoyment. Mr Ollivander was listening to a songs made by an orchestra called "The Eighteenth Wizarding Symphony of Wales." Mrs Ollivander had learned the Auto-Tasking Charm and had a broom sweep up all the wrappings while she listened to the wireless with her husband.

Terry hadn't had Christmas with the entire family in about seven Years. Fraton had moved into his own house when he graduated Hogwarts and really hadn't come to visit sense then. Now, he and Terry were having the times of their lives. To Terry, it seemed a pity that Fraton didn't come to visit that often.

"Are you all packed, Terry?"

It was day before Terry was due to return back to Hogwarts for the next term. All his stuff had been accumulated over a span of a week. His wand, Christmas presents, the few pairs of clothes he packed, some of his books (which included _Quidditch Through the Ages_ to get Marigold off his back), a pack of cards, and Midnight were all strewn over his bed while his trunk was sitting alone in a corner of his room.

"Yes, mum!" Terry shouted back down the stairs. "Just about!" He picked up all of his belongings, besides Midnight, and crammed them into the trunk. For being an unorganized mess, it fit better then Terry thought it would. He closed the trunk and went downstairs.

Mrs Ollivander was making a big dinner in honor of Terry leaving. Midnight ran after him when had left his room and caught up with him when he was sitting down. He stared up at him expectantly. She was starting to get used to eating table scraps.

Midnight got her wish when Mrs Ollivander placed food on Terry's plate and he took a bit of potato and a tiny sliver of meat and placed it on the ground for Midnight to devour.

Terry, Mr Ollivander, Mrs Ollivander, and Fraton all joked, teased, chatted, and ate with each other, just having fun. When a large pudding was put on the table, Terry and Fraton nearly dove at it, trying to have at it first.

After diner, Mr Ollivander, Terry, and Fraton decided to play Exploding Snap (Mrs Ollivander didn't like the noises so she sat and continued to knit). Fraton won five out of eight times, until Terry found him with his wand up his sleeve and chased him around the house, throwing the cards at him, which exploded when they hit something.

Terry went to bed with only one thought: "Travis and Alia must meet Fraton one day.."

Since Mr Milkswurth had left them with Floo power, the Ollivanders wouldn't have to walk to Kings Cross like they had done the previous occasion. They took the Floo powder back to the restaurant with the talkative waitress, Flo.

Across the street, they went and grabbed a trolley for Midnight's cage and Terry's trunk. They were walking from platform eight to platform nine when a familiar voice caught Terry's attention.

"Terry! Oh, Terry! Over here!"

Terry turned to see Alia pushing her trolley at a run to catch up with him.

"Hi, Alia," said Terry. "How was your holiday?"

"I'll tell you on the train. I want you to meet my parents." Alia made a beckoning motion with her hand and Mr and Mrs Clavereaux came over.

They were both tall and thin. Mr Clavereaux had neatly combed brown hair and a mustache. Mrs Clavereaux was blonde, like Alia, but it was lacking the ringlets that were so prominent in Alia's appearance.

Terry was introduced and shook hands with Alia's parents while Terry's parents stood on the sidelines.

"Alia," said Terry, "these are my parents."

"Pleased to meet you," said Alia outstretching her hand. Terry's parents took it and shook it.

"And this my older brother, Fraton," said Terry.

Fraton shook Alia's hand like his parents and shot sly looks over his glasses at Terry. Terry noticed that when Alia went over to say goodbye to her parents, Fraton was mouthing "Terry's got a girlfriend. Terry's got a girlfriend." Terry stared angrily at Fraton who started laughing and Terry almost charged at him, but he thought it he would make too much of a scene.

Terry and Alia went through the barrier together and appeared on platform nine and three-quarters. Their parents and Fraton came after them with their luggage. They put it in the pile that had formed the last time Terry had rode the train to Hogwarts, he and Alia got on the train, found a compartment, and stuck their heads out the window to say goodbye to their parents.

"Be good," said Mrs Ollivander, reaching up to hug Terry. "Write me when you get a chance."

"Have a good term, son," said Mr Ollivander.

"Have fun with Alia!" said Fraton.

"Fraton, shut up!" yelled Terry.

"Only joking, bro," said Fraton with a laugh. "Listen, the train doesn't leave for a while. Can you come out here? I have something I want to show you."

Terry opened the sliding glass door of his compartment and came outside. Fraton ushered him to a column and stepped them both behind it. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a shiny, gelatinous, oval like thing with two oval openings and a protruding bump in the middle.

"Terry, this is a Masker," said Fraton. Terry saw now that the two openings were eye holds and the bump was a nose. The blob-like thing Fraton was holding, was a mask. "If you press it to your face, you will be able to masquerade as anyone. It actually changes your physical appearance. I was going to give it to you on Christmas, but I don't think mum and dad would approve. So, Merry Belated Christmas!" He thrust the Masker at Terry.

"Go ahead!" said Fraton once Terry had taken it. "Try it out!"

Terry slowly moved the Masker to his face, and as its cold body felt his skin, it magically grabbed to his face. Terry then, with a sudden inspiration, thought of the first name that popped into his head.

He started to grow taller, taller, and taller still, until he was about six feet tall. His hair was starting to be pulled back and started to turn scarlet. The visions in front of him started to get blurry and faded...his eye sight was going. After about a minute or so, Fraton chuckled. Terry knew now that he was the spitting image of Fraton. He could look directly into Fraton's eyes; they were the same height.

Terry reached up to his face and peeled the Masker off of him. His hair turned gold and started to retreat back to its normal curtain-like position. He shrank and now only came up to Fraton's shoulder. All the things that he saw sharpened and were now easier to identify.

"That –- was wicked!" exclaimed Terry. "I was –- I turned into –- and you and I were –- THAT WAS WICKED!"

"I thought you would like it," said Fraton. "Now, get along. Use it to your advantage, but don't let mum and dad find it! Okay?"

"Alright," said Terry. "Thanks, Fraton. This is really cool. Will I see you soon?"

"I would guess so," said Fraton casually, putting his hands into his pockets.

"Well, see ya, Fraton," said Terry.

"See you!"

Terry stepped out of the column and got back into the train. He went into his compartment with Alia, and now Travis had found them.

"Hey, Terry! Thanks for the book and the candy," said Travis first thing.

"Hey. Thanks for the candy, too. And you too, Alia," said Terry. "I still have more than half. Fraton got me some candy too. And...something else..."

Terry told them about his new possession. It had put it in his pocket when he had finished talking to Fraton and he took it out again. He put it on his face, and his hair shortened, turned black, he grew paler and freckled, and his eyes turned brown. Now, he was Travis' double.

"Weird," said Travis, astonished, looking at his new mirror of a friend. "And your brother gave this to you?"

Terry had turned back and had put the Masker aside. "He told me to use it to my advantage."

"Well, you know what this means?" asked Travis, slyly. "You're going to give Peragu a run for his money."

"Yes, you will, Terry," said Alia. "Oh! Guess what I got for Christmas from my Uncle Castello." She reached into a tiny house like box and pulled out a small gold winged ball. Terry thought it was a Golden Snitch, but then he noticed, it had feathers and red, jewel like eyes, and a beak.

"Alia? Is that –- ?" started Terry.

"A Snidget!" exclaimed Alia. "My Uncle Castello owns a Snidget reservation. He was able to breed them back from being endangered. He also gave them strengthening potions and foods that they are not so fragile. He's had them thriving for about two Years now and he let me have one. I've named him Flick."

The Snidget leapt into the air and started to fly around the compartment in sudden lurches and twitches to the sides.

"I like him," said Travis. The Snidget had landed on his shoulder.

"I read a book that said that Snidgets were illegal to own," said Terry. "Are you sure it's safe to own it?"

"Flick's a he, not an it. And I _did_ have so sign quite a few things and my parents had to pay quite a bit. But, Uncle Castello gave me the strongest one he had to I think Flick'll be okay."

"I don't know, Alia," said Terry. "It might be a little dodgy."

"I trust my uncle, Terry. You should too."

"Well –- It's just –- I don't want the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures coming down hard on you!"

"They aren't," said Alia calmly. "Uncle Castello worked it out with a friend at the Ministry. It's all fine. The deal has been checked, double checked, and triple checked. It has to stay in a special home that my dad made, it has to eat a special food that it mailed to me in a tiny package weekly, it has certain sleeping hours, I can only take him outside after a nap, and all this stuff to keep him safe. I intent to keep him. It's not your decision."

"It's just, Alia, I don't think Midnight would agree with it," said Terry.

"Ahem?" said Alia, indicating the corner of the compartment. Midnight and the Flick were sleeping, Flick lying between the curled up Midnight's legs.

"Well, I just..." Flick woke up and flew over to Terry. It landed on his head and started making a tiny peeping sound. "Actually," smiling for the first time in the conversation, "I think he may grow on me."

Around eight in the evening, the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. Terry, Travis, and Alia stepped down off the train and onto platform one (the only one). They and the other students returning from their holidays walked to the furthest part of the village. The fifty horseless carriages came into sight and four by four, the students climbed in.

Once again, Natasha, who had spent her holiday in the Carribean and was now very tan, joined them in their carriage. Alia let Flick out of his house again and Natasha had fun letting him chase a ribbon she had charmed to fly in the air. They all took advantage of people able to use magic again, now back in the school grounds.

The carriages stopped, one at a time, and let the students off in front of the great oak front doors. Terry, Travis, Alia, and Natasha got out of their carriage when it pulled up to the doors. They went inside and upstairs to the common room. They had to wait for a prefect to come and tell them the new password: _ultum virtus_.

They all climbed into the common room through the space the owl statue left, and Terry, Travis, and Alia found their favorite spot by the fireside. They hadn't sat here together for a month, and it felt like old times.

Terry had returned to his home away from home, and he wasn't going to leave it any time soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Professor Ferrotte's Incident

Classes started up the following Monday to many unhappy groans from the students. They were all sad to see their free time gone and didn't want to get back to their old studying habits and schedules.

"But, it is important, you know," said Terry, to a resolute Alia and Travis. "We have to learn something eventually. I mean, we are at school."

"Terry, go sit on a knarl," said Alia. "You may feel all sunshine and roses about school starting up again, but we aren't."

Terry kept quiet about starting the lessons for the rest of the day and week. By the end of the week, Travis and Alia had stopped complaining and talking about starting a petition to start the Year later and extend the holidays.

"That won't work," said Peragu. "I tried it last Year."

"What happened," inquired Alia.

"Potter shot me down like a duck," said Peragu, snapping his fingers. "He said that it would be inconvenient for his vacations."

January was the start of a new regime of studying at Hogwarts. Teachers were starting to assign larger assignments and more of them. A lot of students were to be found in the library hours on end, just reading up on vampires. Professor Ferrotte was prone to not show up at lunches in the following weeks. Gary said that she had been spotted in her classroom, crying.

"The poor woman," Gary had said one day at lunch. "I think she's been talking to Lady Anguia. There is probably something wrong with her husband."

"Does she have a husband?" asked Alia. "She seems rather young to have a husband."

"You never know, do you?" said Terry. "I have an aunt who married when she was just out of Hogwarts."

The doors to the Great Hall opened and Snape swept in as he normally did in his stalking manner. He looked red in the face and angry. He was muttering to himself and glared at anyone who was smiling.

"What's up with him?" asked Travis. He was craning his neck trying to get a good look at Snape.

"Well, it's Snape, isn't it?" said Terry. "He is and always will be a slimy old git!"

"Shh!" said Gary, flapping his hands trying to get them to be quiet. "Here comes Professor Ferrotte."

Indeed, Professor Ferrotte came in to the hall. Her eyes were wide and her pupils contracted. She was staggering as she walked and her hand was in a bandage.

"She looks horrible," said Alia. "Has she been drinking?"

"No," said Gary. "Sadly, she's done this to herself. I don't think she'll make it to next Year. You know, it's been thirty Years since Hogwarts has had a teacher that lasted more than two Years."

"Where'd they all go?" said Travis, just noticing he was in the Great Hall and eating.

"Eighteen have resigned," said Gary, looking upward, as though looking into his mind, trying to remember. "Four have been promoted. Six fired. Two went insane and five are dead."

Travis dropped his voice to a whisper. "I have a Galleon riding on Ferrotte getting sacked."

Terry joined in the joke. "I got two and a Sickle she'll be dead."

Alia hit Terry in the upper arm with her purse. "It's not funny! There is something seriously wrong with that woman!"

"No more than you," mumbled Travis.

Alia this time went for Travis' head and knocked him head first into a bowl of crisps.

"Come on, Terry," said Alia. "We have History of Magic next."

She got up and left Terry to help Travis out of the bowl.

"Edgy, that one," said Travis.

Terry, Travis, and Alia started up their dueling practice again. Alia had moved so high up that Terry and Travis didn't want to duel with her because they knew the outcome already.

In the last week of January, they put the practice on hold to make way for a major wave of Quidditch practices. Since that Wednesday Ravenclaw was playing a game against Slytherin. Terry had been looking forward to the most. He knew he would totally trample Ethilina in the match and he wanted to see the look on her face when he caught the Snitch.

So, on that Wednesday, the Ravenclaws and Slytherins headed down to the pitch and changed into their robes. The Ravenclaws and Slytherins walked out of the changing rooms and met in the middle of the field.

"Mount your brooms!" shouted Madam Soan. The two teams swung one legs over their brooms.

Ethilina shot grimacing looks at Terry, Travis, and Alia who returned them with the utmost pleasure.

"Kick off in three...two...one!"

Fourteen people rose into the air and Madam Soan through the Quaffle upwards.

"And...they're off!" came Peragu's magicly magnified voice. "Drensor catches the Quaffle –- Passes over to Dale –- Dodges a Bludger sent to him by Ravenclaw Beater, Alia Clavereaux. Good job, Alia! Quaffle is taken by Raymond –- Passes to Natasha Skile, a stunningly good looking girl who –- Whoops!" A Slytherin supporter threw a large rock at Peragu but missed.

Terry zoomed around the pitch, weaving through all the other players and balls, searching for the Snitch. He flew to the Slytherin end of the pitch and saw Ethilina, glaring at him.

"How are the Basilisks, Ethilina?" shouted Terry. "Your dad still home or is he 'away'?"

"Shut it, Ollivander!" Ethilina shouted back. "Or I'll sic one on you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Oy, Ethilina!" shouted a voice. Terry and Ethilina turned their heads to the Ravenclaw side of the field to see Travis holding a Bludger. "Catch!" He hit the Bludger with all his might and sent it toward Ethilina.

Ethilina screech and flew toward the ground to dodge the Bludger. Travis flew over to Alia who gave him a high-five.

Terry looked down to see if the Bludger was pursuing Ethilina, but it wasn't. Yet, Ethilina was flying like her life depending on it. Odds were, she had seen the Snitch. Slytherin had one-hundred and Ravenclaw had forty. If she caught the Snitch, Slytherin would win, putting in them in first place for the cup.

Terry took off after her. His Zephryn definitely gave him the advantage. He caught up with her and they were neck and neck. Ethilina tried to ram Terry by moving sideways at Terry. The Zephryn's speed helped Terry went up and Ethilina topped right off her broom.

"Geeeyaahhhhh, Ollivander! You will regret thi –- " She hit the ground.

Terry was left to chase the Snitch with nothing else to worry about. He put on one last burst of speed and it was like the Snitch was magnetically attracted to his hand.

Ravenclaw had beaten Slytherin, one-ninety to one-hundred.

Professor Ferrotte's condition didn't improve, even into early February. Logan Renfield had asked to borrow a quill, and Professor Ferrotte had broken down into tears. Peragu had tapped her on the shoulder and she screamed. Professor Granger was talking to her two days before Valentine's Day. To show her sympathy, she held her wrist. When Professor Granger had made contact, Professor Ferrotte withdrew her hand and shrieked. She was admitted to the hospital wing a day later.

Marigold had started up Quidditch practice again. The weather was warming up and almost every day, in Marigold's opinion, was perfect for Quidditch conditions.

"Did everyone get the book I ask them to?" asked Marigold once they were all up in the air.

"Yes," the team chanted back.

"Did you all read it?"

"No," they chanted.

"You lot are a bunch of slackers! It's not a long book! I just wanted you to look in there for background reading, to maybe improve your playing skill. There were some other moves in there that might have come in handy, but, if you want to lose the cup, well, that's fine with me!"

"Marigold, calm down," said Natasha.

"Next year is my last year here. I have a year and a half more to coach you all. But, you don't know how hard it is to coach you all, deal with homework, exams, and all sorts of stuff! Well, do you!"

"Marigold, we –- " started Walt Tanes.

"I don't want to hear it," said Marigold. She flew down to the ground, dismounted, and ran from the stadium.

"I'll go after her," said Natasha. She landed too.

"Me too," said Alia. She followed the two before her.

That evening, Natasha and Alia emerged from the girls' dormitory after two hours of talking to Marigold.

"What was that all about?" asked Travis.

"She's been working herself too hard," said Natasha. She plopped down on a sofa and sighed.

"Her parents are getting separated and her mother is remarrying someone that she doesn't like. No one at home is giving her the time of day to voice her opinion," added Alia.

"Her grandfather is in St. Mungo's, dying."

"She's stressed out because she's really behind on homework."

"And," said Natasha, "she's balancing Quidditch on top of all that. She's in a right state."

"I had no idea," said Terry, earnestly.

"You shouldn't have. She's kept it all bottled up," said Alia.

"She's napping now, but she's been bawling her eyes out, bless her," said Natasha. "I have a mind to take her to the hospital wing and have Madam Treaten calm her down. Or, maybe Professor Granger. She can offer sympathy."

"This really sounds like something she and her family need to work out," said Terry. "We shouldn't get involved. But, I do hope she's okay enough for Quidditch."

"She will be," said Alia. "Everything is just swirling around her head and its confusing her."

"She might be an overzealous, old stickler, but I can feel for her," said Travis.

Marigold didn't reappear for two hours. She eventually showed up back in the common room, puffy eyed and bloodshot.

"Marigold!" said Alia, standing up from her game of Wizard Chess.

"How are you? Feeling better?" said Natasha.

"I –- I guess," said Marigold. She sniffed. "I –- I'm s –- sorry. I've b –- been a – acting like a f –- fool."

She sat down and Alia sat down next to her and put her arm around her. "No, you haven't. Anyone would crack under all that pressure and stress."

"Y –- you all m –- must think I'm an i –- idiot," said Marigold.

"No, we don't think any less of you, Marigold," said Natasha.

Terry and Travis didn't say much. Alia and Natasha were doing such a great job of comforting Marigold that they didn't want to intrude.

Marigold was finally able to speak without stuttering and Alia and Natasha were finally able to get her to calm down and go down for dinner. Walt and Antony didn't say anything when Marigold came down and sat down next to them at the Ravenclaw table.

"Poor girl," said Travis. "I would hate to be in her shoes."

"Yeah, I guess that –- "

CRASH! A loud noise came from the Entrance Hall that made anyone in the Great Hall jump either ten feet or out of their skins.

"Harry, what was that!" said Professor Granger.

"I don't know," said Professor Potter. He got up slowly and walked calmly out of the hall. He walked back in a moment later, calm as could be.

"Remeda, could you come out here for a moment?" said Professor Potter.

Instead of Madam Treaten getting up solitarily, the entire hall jumped to its feet. Prefects and teachers led the way out of the double doors to the Entrance Hall. When the entire school was in the Entrance Hall, there was a collective gasp. Terry, Travis, and Alia fought their way to the front and gasped too.

Professor Ferrotte was lying sprawled eagle on the floor.

"Ah, Cavusa! What happened to you!" said Professor Granger. She, Madam Treaten, and Professor Budman rushed forward and helped her up.

"She's still alive!" said Madam Treaten.

"Cavusa. Cavusa, honey. Wake up. Speak to me," said Professor Granger.

Professor Ferrotte stirred. Her eyes stared up at the ceiling then darted all around, taking in the crowd.

"Cavusa, are you alright?" asked Professor Budman.

"They –- they –- they are de –- dementors," said Professor Ferrotte.

"What is it, Cavusa?" asked Professor Granger.

Professor Ferrotte's voice became more urgent. "They –- are –- dementors!"

"She's lost it!" screamed Madam Treaten. "Headmaster, what shall we –- ?"

Footsteps were gradually growing louder from the dungeon corridor. Then, a black figure walked up the steps. At first, Terry thought it was a dementor. Then he thought it was the figure that attacked him. But, when the figure came into the light of the torched in the Entrance Hall, Terry realized that it was Snape.

"What's going on here, Headmaster?" asked Snape, viewing all the students assembled around Professor Ferrotte.

"DEMENTOR! DEMENTOR!" screamed Professor Ferrotte. She tried to get up, but instead, she fainted.

'Severus, Professor Ferrotte has been attacked. She's not herself," said Professor Potter.

"How unfortunate," said Snape.

"Students, if you could kindly go back to your dormitories. Teachers, to the staff room."

"Once again, you know Snape is behind this," said Alia. "Professor Ferrotte thought that she was being attacked by a dementor, and you saw how Snape was dressed."

The Ravenclaws climbed the spiral staircase and walked through the owl statue passageway.

"What's a dementor?" asked Travis.

"Well, you remember when we told you about Azkaban?" asked Alia. She sat down in an armchair.

"Yeah, I do," said Travis. He sat down in a chair across from Alia.

"Well," said Terry, "they are this cloak creatures that suck the happiness out of people. And if they get a chance, they suck out your soul."

"They do?" asked Travis. "Scary. Is there anyway to fight them or repel them?"

"Actually, there is," said Alia. "It's called a Patronus. It's a difficult charm to perform. But..." her voice trailed off.

"What is it, Alia?" asked Terry.

"Well, you know how we have been able to perform charms that can be considered to be difficult? Want to really test our ability?"

"What do you mean?" asked Travis.

"I'm saying," said Alia with a sly smile, "that we should try and learn one of the hardest charms: the Patronus Charm."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Eagle and Wolf

Terry, Travis and Alia never got a chance to go to the library to get a book on Patronuses. Their classes had them swamped. Snape was in a worse mood than he had been all Year as everyone suspected Snape of attacking Terry and Professor Ferrotte.

Since Professor Ferrotte's attack, people would stop Terry in the corridors to get his rendition of when he was attacked.

"Did it hurt?" –- "Was it fat?" –- "How tall was it?" –- "Was it a boy or girl?" –- "How long were you in the hospital?"

Terry felt so overwhelmed with the questions that were bombarding him. Alia, Travis, Natasha, and Peragu caught on that Terry was being badgered and were often seen going out of their way to protect Terry from his mad group of inquisitive fans.

Some students tried to catch a glimpse of Professor Ferrotte in her hospital bed. The only ones that were able to see her was Peragu and his friends Kai Jaraman and George Taneman. They were able to report that she was sitting there, just muttering to herself.

"She's in a right state," said Peragu. "She kept muttering about 'eyes'."

Two days after Marigold's breakdown and Professor Ferrotte's attack, Alia was in an extremely good mood and Terry and Travis knew why. It was Alia's birthday.

Terry had gotten Alia a bracelet charmed to shine the initials of the wearer. ALC would flash every time Alia put it on. Travis had bought her a some candy from the Muggle world. Mars bars, ordinary lollipops, chocolates, and fruit flavored candies were all handed to Alia by Travis in a multicolored bag.

Flowers and hearts were to be seen the same day as it was Valentine's Day. First Years went down to the greenhouses for a special Herbology class, even though it was Sunday. Professor Budman had called them down there because the love-in-idleness plants the first Years had planted in their first Herbology class had bloomed.

"As you may notice," said Professor Budman, "the flowers resemble a normal flower most of you would know called the pansy. Its juices will cause someone to fall in love with the first living thing, animal or human, they see. You simply wipe the juice on a sleeping persons eyes. It is said that fairy a king used this flower to mess up four lovers and his wife. Of course, fairies are extremely dim and would have never learned the properties of this plant."

The next day, half a dozen students were sent to Madam Treaten. Someone, questionably Peragu, had snuck into the different dormitories and wiped love-in-idleness on their eyes. Four of the false lovers had actually fallen in love with humans, but one fell in love with his toad and another fell in love with a bird and tried to jump out of the window when it flew away.

That Tuesday, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff played against each other on the Quidditch pitch. Gryffindor had beaten Hufflepuff, one-sixty to fifty. Putting Ravenclaw in first place, Gryffindor in second, Hufflepuff in third, and to Alia's delight, Slytherin in last.

Soon after that, Terry, Travis, and Alia had a very interesting potions class.

Snape now hated Terry, Travis, and Alia more than even the Gryffindors put together. Terry had started to wonder if Snape could read minds because Snape acted as if he knew Terry, Travis, and Alia suspected him.

Upgrading from insulting and tormenting the three, he didn't speak to them. He would sweep past them, not looking at them, like there were three empty stools sitting in front of a bubbling cauldron.

"Greasy git!" yelled Travis once in the Entrance Hall. He untucked his shirt untied his tie and draped it over his shoulder.

"Don't tell me!" said Alia. She pulled her hair out of a five curl ponytail. "I haven't liked him since our first class with him. I'm probably failed potions. I just can't pay attention and Snape is enjoying intimidating me."

"I can't stand him either," said Terry, taking his hair out of a ponytail too. "I mean, he did attack me and Ferrotte. What's to like about him?" Terry suddenly found himself and Travis and Alia in front of the owl statue.

"_Ultum virtus_," said Terry. The owl fly to its usual position on top of a bookcase. Terry, Travis, and Alia walked through the hole in the wall to join the rest of the studying, visiting, and reading Ravenclaw students. They all flopped down on a turquoise colored couch. Alia pulled out her wand and used a Whistling Charm. A tiny tinny issued from her wand and a tiny gold something flew from the girls' dormitories and landed in Alia's hand.

"What a clever bird you are, Flick!" said Alia to Flick. "I'd like to see a Snitch do that, Terry."

"Yeah," said Terry. "So would I."

They went upstairs and deposited there belongings and school things in their beds and came downstairs again. After a tiny argument, in which Terry and Alia swore to hex Travis' knee caps off, the three of them decided to go to the library and start work on their Patronuses.

After they stole food away form the Great Hall that they munched on en route to the library (food wasn't allowed), they entered the library and checked in _Charming Charms for the Charmed_. No luck. Then tried _Standard Book of Spells: Grade 3._ Nothing. _Achievements in Charming _had nothing on the subject. They had to talk to Mr Fulton who led them to the Defense sections and pulled _Protection and Deflection_ from the shelf.

After leaving the library with the five pound book tucked under Alia's arm. They decided to work out in the sunlight today and say beneath a beech tree with the book opened to the Patronus Charm.

Terry, who felt lazy, used the Auto-Tasking Charm to make the book read aloud its topic.

"'_The Patronus Charm is one of the more complicated charms a wizard can learn. It makes a powerful barrier between you and Dark creatures such as Dementors and Lethifolds. To conjure a Patronus, you must think of the happiest memory you can muster up and say the incantation, _Expecto Patronum_. A silvery white airy substance should come out of the wand if the conjurer has enough magic behind it. _

"'_Sometimes, if the magic is strong enough, the Patronus will take on a form; usually an animal. There was one case in which Andros the Invincible produced a Patronus the size of a giant._'"

Terry snapped the book shut and pulled out his wand.

"It's worth a shot," he said. "_Expecto Patronum_!" Nothing happened.

"Did you think of something happy?" asked Alia.

"Oh, no. Let me think..." Terry racked his memory for a happy memory. Terry hadn't had a horrible childhood, but he couldn't think of anything that he thought would produce a good Patronus. There was the time Fraton first let him ride a boom...but he nearly fell off. There was when his grandmother took him to a Quidditch game...but the Appleby Apples had lost a horrible loss.

"Does anyone have anything?" asked Terry. Alia had her eyes closed shut but Travis was looking normal.

"I haven't a thing," said Alia. He pressed her index fingers to her temples.

"I do," said Travis. "The day I got my letter to Hogwarts." He pulled out his wand and shouted: "_Expecto Patronum_!"

A tiny whisp of silvery smoke came out of his wand. Nothing too impressive, but it was a good start for Travis.

"I did it!" said Travis. He did it five more times and the same smoke came out. Each time it disappeared into nothingness.

The three of them continued to practice Patronuses, even into the Easter holidays. Terry decided to stay at Hogwarts for the Easter holidays and Travis and Alia stayed along too. Loads of students had left for the holidays that only about forty remained, ten in each house. Terry, Travis and Alia had plenty of time to practice and study and just goof off since only they and Natasha Skile had decided to stay. The rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team had gone home, including Marigold.

Patronus–wise, the three of them were progressing. Alia had finally picked a memory, but wouldn't say what it was. She had gotten quite a big blob of smoke to come out her wand that no one really questioned her too much.

Terry had also picked his memory, when he had won an award for a short story he had written. Terry hadn't really written much since he had started Hogwarts, but he was quite a good talent in the literary business. He had gotten a weird shaped figure with to cone like things on to of a sphere connected to a sort of fluffy, fat body. Terry had no clue what it was.

"Maybe it's some sort of horned dragon," suggested Travis, who was getting a head and a snout and a streamlined body out of his wand.

"I don't think so," said Terry. "Dragon's aren't exactly furry."

The last Sunday in March, Terry, Travis, and Alia received candy eggs filled with even more candy. They ate these happily and were thrown into a massive sugar high after eating all the sweets. Gary had gone home for the holidays so Terry, Travis, and Alia could be raucous in the common room without too much nagging.

Peragu, in his quest to throw twenty parties, threw a quite loud one for what he said, "Just for the heck of it." Since the party was not honoring Terry or Travis or Alia, the three of them were able to enjoy the festivities without having to dodge a massive amount of screaming "fans" as Travis said. Even though it was a crowd of eleven or twelve people, it was very loud.

"The louder the funner!" said Peragu. Terry and Alia became annoyed both for the same reason: they both made a point to using proper grammar.

There were plenty butterbeers to go around since Peragu had stolen a little too many. Hope Livecombe and Michelle Bulkstrand had decorated the common room tremendously in blue, silver, white, and a blueish-green aqua colors that matched the furniture perfectly.

There was an enormous game of Exploding Snap halfway to midnight. Once again, Travis' luck didn't pull through. The eight foot card house the Ravenclaws were building blew up right in Travis' face and he fell right onto Claire Harain, a girl in Alia's dormitory. Claire, obviously, wasn't too happy and Travis sat in a chair in the corner for most of the remainder of the party.

The classes started up again two weeks later. Terry, Travis, and Alia were knee deep in homework.

"Oh, isn't this great?" asked Travis sarcastically. "We have two months until exams! Why not cram now!"

Terry and Alia agreed that the teachers had started the cramming and studying process to early, but they also agreed they would be thoroughly prepared for the exams.

Terry, Travis, and Alia had been having empty class periods in place of Defense Against the Dark Arts for Professor Ferrotte had not returned from the infirmary. But, a notice had gone up on the notice board saying that Defense Against the Dark Arts classes would resume the following Tuesday.

When they reached the classroom on the first floor, a woman with a severe haircut and a prominent chin was sitting in Ferrotte's desk. On the board behind her, the word's "Professor Grubbly-Plank" were written on it. The rest of the class piddled in and took their seats.

"Hello, class," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, standing up. She was very old and her hair was a dull gray. "I am here filling in for Professor Ferrotte. She is still a little unbalanced in the hospital wing. So, I shall take up her classes until she is able to resume her teaching.

"Professor Potter could not get a word about a lesson plan out of her when he spoke to her, so he told me to just read some stories out of some books he had in his office. I thought we would let democracy take its course here so, it's either _Gadding With Ghouls_ or _Year With the Yeti_."

No one raised their hands.

"Well, then, _Gadding With Ghouls_ it is, then," said Professor Grubbly-Plank.

The entire class was bored to tears, bored senseless, bored stiff, and bored stupid as Professor Grubbly-Plank read about a extravagant and egotistical wizard who spent time in the wild, studying ghouls and let the ghouls learn about wizard culture.

"What a brainless, mindless, senseless git!" said Alia when they left the room, wiping drool from their chins. "There is no possible way he did that. He made it up. I bet Potter found that book in the fiction section of Flourish and Blotts."

"What makes you say that?" asked Travis. "It is possible that this Gilderoy Lockhart bloke did that."

"I doubt it," said Alia. "Ghouls usually throw stuff at people who intrude on their packs. My uncle was put into St. Mungo's for a ghoul attack."

Transfiguration was a grueling experience. They were turning brooms into umbrellas. Professor Dannersham made sure that the handle became the right curve for the umbrella and that the bristles turning into the top fanning part of the umbrella. Terry was able to get the bristles to turn to a durable fabric and the handle was starting to curve. Travis, as usual, wasn't having very good luck. His broom wasn't curving or fanning out, but he had made it levitate.

Travis was given more homework than any other person in class. On top of that, his head was spinning along with Terry's and Alia's because of more homework than they had had all Year, studying for exams, Quidditch practice, and their own practice of Patronuses.

Their Patronuses still hadn't taken a definite form yet. Travis' had been the same for since they last worked on Patronuses as had Terry's. Alia's had taken a form of a slender, pointed head.

"I still can't get it to change!" said Alia one Sunday of practicing. "Still the same point!" They were in Professor Granger's empty classroom. Alia had found a way to climb up on a top shelve with nothing on it to sit.

"Neither can we," said Terry, still getting the furry creature. "I give up. We should really be in the library, studying."

"I know we should," said Alia. "But, I determined to learn how to do this! I may need it during the summer holidays." She tried the charm again, and this time, it wasn't just a pointed head. It had a body with to triangular structures flanking it. Alia smiled and performed the charm twice more.

"What do you mean 'I may need it during the summer holidays?'" asked Travis. "We're not allowed to use magic during the holidays unless in emergencies."

"I know," said Alia. "I may have an emergency."

"I don't understan –- " started Terry but...

"You don't need to understand," said Alia. "I just want to learn the charm. I've made progress; enough progress for today. I'll go to the library." She jumped down from her shelf and picked up her bag.

"I'll come with you," said Terry. He pocketed his wand and retrieved his bag too. Travis joined them also.

The library was almost deserted. Two other students and Mr Fulton were the only one's there beside Terry, Travis, and Alia. They took refuge in the Transfiguration section and worked on an extremely difficult essay Professor Dannersham had assigned about what could happen if you don't concentrate on the thing you are trying to turn an object into. It was bore to end all bores.

Terry usually liked to learn. He thought that learning was something you had to do and something that was not fun but not boring to do. This was a major wake up call on Terry's theory. Terry thought he was going to start drooling all over _A History of Magic_ and _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_. Travis had resorted to absent mindedly tapping his wand on the table until it emitted the same blue and silver sparks it had before. Alia was in a gazed stupor just staring at her book without her eyes moving or taking in a word of what she was reading.

They "studied" well into the evening. Mr Fulton eventually kicked them out because he realized they were doing absolutely nothing and were just sitting there. They said that they would not return the next day because it was the most boring thing they ever had to do except History of Magic.

History of Magic was taught by a kind faced witch by the name of Professor Elnota. When Terry, Travis, and Alia came to her class the following Monday. They were studying the progress of the Ministry of Magic.

"...So, about fifty Years ago," read Professor Elnota, "the Ministry was having trouble with Dark wizards and the Aurors were no match for them. The Ministry had to take action. They created seven magical elements. They helped quite a bit; Azkaban was having to put more than one prisoner in one cell, a first in thirty Years. But then –- "

The bell rang and interrupted Professor Elnota.

"I guess that's all the time we have for today. For homework, read chapter nine of _A History of Magic_ and read on about the elements and give a six inch report. Have a good afternoon!"

The class got to its feet and left the classroom. Since they didn't have flying class anymore, they had the rest of the afternoon off to do whatever they wanted. Fortunately, Marigold didn't find them, like Davis had told them she was, so they could go a practice Patronuses.

"I can't get it to take any form," said Terry, still getting the furry and blurry something. "You two keep working. I have to do a lot of homework."

So, Terry left the usual tree they worked at, and broke his promise to himself not to go to the library today, and went. He took out three different books. (_Magical Drafts and Fungi_, for Snape,_ A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration_, for Dannersham, and _A History of Magic_, for Elnota.) He opened _A History of Magic_ and turned to chapter nine.

"_Unofruor_," said Terry lazily. The book began to read:

"_Because of ramped Dark wizards, the Aurors were dropping like flies. Many precautions were taken to avoid this problem, but none prevailed. They eventually invented the following:_

"_The Searcher's Eye, a blue glass sphere, was able to see through anything. It came in handy for looking around corners or seeing down a couple of floors._

"_The silver Legilimen's Eye was able to penetrate the mind's thickest layer. Lies and deceits of criminals were no use against this Eye._

"_The Healer's Eye, in nature's natural colors, produced a potion able to cure or heal any wound or disease and even death. Aurors who were injured were easily revived._

"_The Arrester's Eye, deep scarlet, would stop people in their tracks. If a Dark wizard were to run at an Auror or try and curse them, it could halt the felon and the spell._

"_The Stunner's Eye of violet could baffle and confuse Dark wizards, temporarily immobilizing the wizard for a time._

"_The Decipherer's Eye, a bright yellow, would brake down the language barrier. Able to translate languages was essential to Ministry officials. _

"_Finally, the dark Plunderer's Eye, would seek out treasure. If a Dark wizard had stolen some gold this sphere would be able to find it._

"_The Ministry of Magic thought that these tools were fool proof, but like most times, they were gravely mistaken. The first six were working smooth without flaw, but the Plunderer's Eye wavered in its allegiance. _

"_The Plunderer's Eye, instead of located treasure for the Ministry, would find gold and jewels, and telepathically send the coordinates to criminals._

"_The Ministry soon began to fear its power, and tried to dispose of it. The Plunderer's Eye persuaded the Stunner's Eye onto its team, and it bamboozled the other's into thinking the Ministry was the enemy. So, anytime the Ministry would make an attempt at destroying the Plunderer's Eye, the Healer's Eye would protect it. The other eyes also contributed their powers to the Plunderer's Eye so that it was now the ultimate Eye. _

"_Soon, the Plunderer's and the other Eyes became unstoppable. The Ministry couldn't do anything to get rid of them. In the end, the Ministry decided to hide the Eyes in a place they thought would be best protected. They built a secret underground chamber to house the Eyes._

"_The Plunderer's Eye still calls to those who seek it. No one knows where it is, including the Eyes. They were relocated without their knowledge. Unfortunately, the nearest person the Plunderer's Eye calls to has to be living where it is located_."

Eyes...eyes...Terry knew that sounded familiar. Then it hit him. Professor Ferrotte, in her ranting in the infirmary was saying something about eyes. Could this be what she was talking about? But, why would she be talking about them?

Snape! Snape probably questioned Professor Ferrotte they day the entire school found her lying on the floor in the Entrance Hall. He could have used a number of Memory Charms and could have disposed of her sanity.

But why would Snape want the Eyes? "_The Plunderer's Eye, instead of located treasure for the Ministry, would find gold and jewels, and telepathically send the coordinates to criminals._" That's it. Snape wants treasure. Who wouldn't?

Terry stood up and closed the book. He put away his belongings and left the library. He wanted to share his new information with Travis and Alia.

He past the third floor and saw Professor Granger go into the teachers' lounge. That's right...Snape was in there when he was looking for Professor Granger and said something about a "key." It fit. Professor Potter gave the key to where the Plunderer's Eye was kept to Professor Ferrotte and Snape wanted it. So, he attacked her trying to find it, made too much noise, and ran away.

Snape was also behind Halloween and the seventh floor being destroyed. He was probably looking to see if he could find an alternate way to get to the Plunderer's Eye, but failed. When Professor Potter spoke to the portrait of the green skinned man, the portrait reported the cloaked figure said, "It's not here," as it left.

Then Terry's detention. Snape was probably going to try and find the Plunderer's Eye and didn't expect Terry there. So, he attacked him and Professor Ferrotte rescued him.

Terry's stomach sank. The woman who had saved him, was lying in the hospital wing, bling to herself, and as Peragu now said, she was talking to a jar. That poor innocent woman was insane. She thought she was just applying for a job at Hogwarts, not knowing what she was in for.

He opened the great oak doors and went out onto the warm and sunny grounds. Travis and Alia saw him and ran up to him.

'Terry!" screamed Alia with glee. "Terry, we did! We got our Patronuses!"

They both pulled out their wands and said, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

Two silvery forms shot out of the wands and landed gracefully on the ground. Alia's was a tall, feathered figure. Two large wings and a beak were intact along with sharp talons. Travis' was long and streamlined, four paws, a snout, and a tail that made a sort of "C."

The eagle and the wolf sat their and then they flew and ran around the grounds, around the gamekeeper's hut, and a pack of studying Hufflepuffs.

"Guys, I'm really happy for you...but I've just figured something out," said Terry. They went back to the beech tree and Terry recounted all the conclusions he had found out while in the library and returning outside.

Travis and Alia listened intently and didn't speak for a while when he finished telling the story.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Alia after a while. "I knew Snape was no good!"

"Poor Professor Ferrotte," said Travis. "She was just holding on to something for Potter and she goes insane."

"Well, Snape hasn't gotten the Plunderer's Eye, yet," said Alia. "I think we're alright. Let's move on to something a bit more cheerful. Hufflepuff and Slytherin are playing Quidditch tomorrow. I hope Hufflepuff will win."

"Oh, please!" said Terry. "Hufflepuff has a worse chance of winning than Professor Ferrotte has of trying to steal the Plunderer's Eye."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Loss and a Kidnap

Professor Ferrotte was in a worst state than she had been the entire Year. Madam Treaten tried to assist her and allow her to watch the Quidditch game, but she kept saying things like "He won't let me go! He won't allow me!"

"Of course he will," Madam Treaten had said to her. "Harry wants you to go to the Quidditch game, Cavusa."

Then, Professor Ferrotte started screaming at the top of her voice.

Terry, Travis, and Alia all enjoyed the Quidditch match. The Hufflepuffs had some of the best Beaters Terry had ever seen. They had taken out the Slytherin Keeper, Yardena Stinsta, and two Chasers (one just happened to be Jacelyn Goyle) so the Hufflepuffs were able to score without much intrusion; the Hufflepuffs won one hundred-forty to ten.

Because of this, the Ravenclaws were happy. The Quidditch Cup was basically in the bag for them. They were in first place and were beating Gryffindor (which was in second place) by sixty points.

Alia got great glee knowing that the Slytherins had lost and their was no chance of them catching up. Ethilina had lost...lost a losing battle against Alia. Alia would gloat about this whenever she saw Ethilina and soon, Ethilina grew to be very bitter.

One day, while they were cuing up in the dungeons for Potions, Ethilina was at her sourest.

"Hey, Clavereaux," said Ethilina, prodding Alia in the back. "What did you have to do to get that haircut? Twirl your hair around a bunch of bubotubers? It looks greasy enough."

Alia twirled around. "At least I don't have the face of a match. Do you even eat anything, or were you force fed Shrinking Solution as a child?"

"You're just used to looking in the mirror and seeing fat all over your face you don't recognize being truly petit. And the company you keep. A wizard from a poor family and a Mudblood. Tut tut."

That was the final straw. Terry and Travis both pulled out their wands. Terry was halfway pronouncing the words for the Spinning Hex and Travis almost through with the Perplexing Hex but Alia stopped them by putting her arm in front of them.

"Oh!" said Ethilina. Her voice sounded like a mother talking to her baby. "Is Ickle Widdle Cwavereaux doing to defend her widdle friends? How sweet."

Alia pulled out her wand like lightning and screamed as loud as she could, "_Noenaeris!_"

Like an invisible hand had done it, Ethilina's feet were lifted off the ground. She was floating in midair and then, with an ear piercing scream, Ethilina feel hard and was nearly flattened on the hard stone floor.

"What is going on here!"

Snape, with his usual sweeping cloak and evil, greasy face came out of his office.

"Clabbereaux addacked be," said Ethilina. Her nose and been squashed when he landed. It was red and swollen. "I was poking fun ad her and she hexed be."

"Well, well, well," said Snape, looking over at Alia with something like amusement. "Magic in the corridors _and_ attacking a fellow student. I don't think this is allowed, Clavereaux. How does a detention sound?"

"Please, sir, she was provoked, sir," said Claire Hairan. "Ethilina was insulting her and — "

"Silence!" shouted Snape. "I will not be spoken back to! Five points from Ravenclaw! Now, Clavereaux. You will stay behind after class and we will set up your detention. Now, the rest of you: IN!"

The class hurried in and Snape slammed the door behind him. It was another hard lesson in which Ellistris Kanteroff cried again. Terry did reasonably well, so Snape glided by him without a word. Alia did well, but Ethilina secretly dropped a bit of frog spawn in and Alia's potion started to bubble and froth. Snape was then able to criticize it.

At the end of class, Terry and Travis waited outside Snape's classroom and leaned against the door and they heard the hissing voice of Snape and the soft and annoyed voice of Alia trying to argue over the time and place of her detention. After a few moments, Alia came hurrying out of Snape's dark classroom with an even darker expression.

"I have the scrub the picture frames on the first and the seventh floors. They're both huge. I have to do it all in one night or he's going to double the time I have to work. Example: I don't finish in one night, I have to do two more nights which adds up to be three nights of work. If I don't finish what I have to do on those nights, I have to do three more nights for a grand total of six night of working my butt off!"

"Whoa!" said Travis. "That's harsh, isn't it?"

"No kidding!" said Alia, curtly. "I hope that Professor Ferrotte goes so far insane that she starts attacking people and gets her revenge on Snape!"

Marigold had been working the Quidditch team so hard that Terry, Travis, and Alia had no time to do homework and if they had time they were far too tired to do any work.

The teachers also had them working like dogs because it was a month until exams were due to begin. Professors Dannersham, Granger, Snape, Elnota, Mourn, Budman, and Grubbly–Plank all gave them difficult homework and excruciating classwork. The school adapted a silent tone that any slam of a closing book or a scraping of a moving chair sounded oddly magnified and alien. Alia, who had become jumpy from all the stress, would make a sort of squeak anytime someone performed a loud spell or if Peragu attempted to throw a party.

The last week of May, the entire school was thoroughly excited and on edge on account of the fact the final Quidditch match of the entire Year was to be played that morning. Blue and red (and three or four people Terry, Travis, and Alia could identify) were worn by fourteen players with brooms over their shoulders.

Marigold, who was a pasty white, came up and informed the Ravenclaws (and Taylor Kinsburn informed the Gryffindors) it was time to go out to the Quidditch field. The two teams trudged down to the pitch and Marigold took the Ravenclaws into a review of everything they had learned the entire Year.

"Remember to use the Sloth Grip Roll, the Cork Screw Roll, and the Somersault Roll to avoid Bludgers. Clavereaux and Norron, I thought the Hufflepuffs were clever by taking out the Chasers and Keeper. Go for the Keeper, especially. And Beaters, keep our Chasers safe. The Gryffindors are sixty points behind us so, as long as we catch the Snitch and win...we should win. That means that this is up to you, Terry. Everyone clear?"

"Clear," said the team. Marigold grinned the biggest grin yet. This was the first time the team had ever replied without being sarcastic or something less than excited.

Terry and the rest of the team heard Peragu's commentary and knew it was time to join the rest of the school outside. They grabbed their brooms with shaking hands and carried them out into the bright sunlight of the stadium.

"And the Ravenclaw team has come out. They all look stunning in their blue robes and Natasha Skile's blonde hair makes her look like a visitor from heaven."

"Ahem!" said Professor Granger.

"Sorry, Professor. Just expressing myself. And the Gryffindor team is here," he said with something like boredom.

The red-clad players came out of the changing rooms and met the blue ones in the middle of the field. Madam Soan ordered the team captains to shake hands. They did with determined and sinister and intimidating looks floating around their faces.

Madam Soan gave the signal to mount their brooms and a moment later, she blew her whistle and the two teams flew into the air for the last time in the entire term. The front six players, as Terry could see, were playing their hardest. They threw fast, they flew fast, and they ran headlong into each other to knock the other off their broom fast.

"Ronnald — Baum — Haroldman — Hit by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by Ravenclaw — Skile catches — Tanes — Raymond — Dodges Ronnald — Approaches goal — And misses!"

Terry was thoroughly working his Zephryn hard. It was going at top speed and James Potter was attempting to through him off course, but the Zephryn's pinpoint precision was able to swerve out of the way and continue to circle the stadium.

James was tailing him. Then, on a sudden inspiration, Terry sped up and shot off purposefully. He made sudden turns and changed direction many times. If all went well, he would convince James he saw the Snitch and would be able to throw him off.

"And Gryffindor is in the lead one hundred to zero," said Peragu's magically magnified voice.

Terry stopped when he heard this. "Ow!" said Terry. If he didn't catch the Snitch soon, Gryffindor would win. But, at the moment, he had a determined Gryffindor tailing him. He went forward again and he heard the whooshing of James' broom behind him. He flew in a spiral around the Gryffindor goal posts and James followed. Terry then flew up, up, up, higher than the goal posts, higher than the stadium, higher then the Astronomy Tower back at the castle.

He made an about–face and flew downward. James, of course, did the same. Terry past the highest seat in the stands, the highest goal post, and soon, he was only fifty feet away from the ground. He was getting closer, which meant James was too. He remembered hearing about what he was about to do from Fraton, and it would probably work. As Terry, was but six feet away, he made a sharp turn up and started flying level with the ground. There was an definite crunch and he knew that James had collided with the ground.

"Sorry about that, mate!" yelled Terry over his shoulder. "It had to be done!"

Terry continued to fly without a slightest hint of the Snitch.

"Raymond — Tanes — Skile — Tanes again — Skile again — at the goal — Tonas catches."

Terry was on his third lap of the pitch. He was by the Ravenclaw goals and a large black something zoomed at him. He ducked and the Bludger flew off to pursue Baum. He glanced up and saw a tiny golden glint off at the other end of the field. Terry went as fast as his broom would allow and was soon not far behind the Snitch. The Gryffindor Beaters noticed that Terry was going after the Snitch and shot both the Bludgers at Terry. Terry tried to dodge them, but one hit the back of his broom and he fell forward and as he did, something small, round, and fluttering was put into his hand.

"Ravenclaw wins the Quidditch Cup! RAVENCLAW WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!" Peragu shouted. "One hundred fifty to one hundred forty!"

Madam Soan had landed and was jumping up and down with excitement. Travis and Alia had flown over to Terry and Alia hugged him. Marigold was crying with happiness. James Potter was applauding politely and gave Terry the thumbs up. Natasha hugged Terry too and Gary was applauding.

"Well done, Terry! Well done!" screamed Marigold though her tears.

The Ravenclaw team all landed and met Professor Potter in the middle of the field.

"It is my honor," said Professor Potter, "to award the Quidditch cup to Ravenclaw." He handed the large trophy to Marigold was absolutely beaming.

Peragu took the Quidditch Cup (as most would) as an excuse to though a party. This shindig was the best one of the entire Year. Decorations were on every inch of the walls and ceiling. Tons of food crowded a tiny table on the left side wall and the common room was holding its maximum capacity. Peragu outdid himself with the nicking and brought what could have been a five course meal and could have filled a giant's bladder.

Marigold conjured some dwarfs to sing as everyone mingled.

"Too bad Professor Ferrotte couldn't have seen the match," said Alia. "I think she would have enjoyed it."

"How do you know?" asked Travis. "You barely knew her."

"Well," said Alia, "who wouldn't have enjoyed that match."

It didn't take long for Terry and Travis to answer. When they did, they said in unison: "Ethilina."

A week later, the school was studying its hardest as in four days, exams were going to begin. On top of that, Alia had her detention the night before the exams. Terry and Travis sat at a tiny circular table looking up incomplete charming and waiting for Alia to return from the first and seventh floors.

"I don't think Alia will be back anytime soon," said Travis, looking at a grandfather clock in the corner by the owl statue hole. "The first floor has ten classrooms each with at least five portraits in each and then the seventh floor is nicely decorated too."

"Well, you never know," said Terry. "She's good at being quick so she may have hurried. I don't think she wants to work two more nights."

It soon grew apparent that Alia wasn't hurrying. One o'clock in the morning passed and two went by in a flash. Terry didn't even realize three had past until he looked the clock and saw the hands indicated that it was four–fifteen.

Terry went to bed at five and awoke at seven, so he was extremely tired the next morning. This wasn't good because over the course of the next three days he would be taking ten tests and exams. He got dressed and went downstairs to the Great Hall.

Alia was sitting by herself at the Ravenclaw table; Travis hadn't woken up yet. Terry moved his way over to her and she shot up out of her seat as if electricity had been run through it. She ran down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Terry!" she whispered. This confused Terry because they were in the middle of a crowded dining hall.

"What?" asked Terry, going along with what Alia was doing and whispering too.

"Come with me," she hissed and she ran out of the hall. Terry ran after her and when he entered the Entrance Hall, Alia stared at him until the door closed behind him.

"I know where the Plunderer's Eye is," she said, forgetting her hushing voice. "I know where it is!"

"Where?" asked Terry, urgently. "Tell me." This seemed a bit odd. How could a girl cleaning picture frames for a detention find something that a Dark wizard was looking for also?

"On the seventh floor. It was behind the picture of a woman dressed in shawls," said Alia quickly.

From behind Alia came the sound of footsteps. They grew louder and Travis tottled down from the Ravenclaw Tower looking disgruntled and disheveled.

"Mor — mor — morning all," yawned Travis. "What's going on?"

"Alia's found the Plunderer's Eye," said Terry. He was a bit skeptical about Alia's theory of finding it behind a portrait of a woman who could have been his aunt.

"You did?" asked Travis. He was now fully awake and his eyes were huge. "Where?"

"Seventh floor," said Alia. "Behind a portrait. I can show you."

She dashed up the marble staircase and made a right onto the Grand Staircase.

"Should we follow?" asked Terry.

"Do we have a choice?"

They followed Alia up the Marble Staircase, and up seven flights of stairs to the seventh floor and onto the seventh floor corridor. Alia was waiting by the portrait of the woman with the shawls.

Terry approached the portrait and when he got a good look at the woman, he knew that there no mistaking that the portrait was of his Aunt Sibyll. He recognized her from her hair to her glasses to her shawls to her dress.

"_The thing you've been dreading will happen on the eleventh of June_," said Aunt Sibyll's portrait in a misty and ethereal voice.

"Yeah, we'll keep that in mind," said Alia.

"Alia," said Terry, "This is my Aunt Sibyll. I'm sure it is. She's too weird not to be."

"_The one who fakes is the one you seek_," said the portrait Aunt Sibyll.

"Alright, sure, now shut up," said Terry. "Now, Alia, how do you get in?"

Alia smiled, but looked around cautiously. "Well, I had a rag and a bottle of Mrs. Skower's All Purpose Magical Mess Remover. I was rubbing this frame — " she dropped her voice " — and listening to your mad old aunt — " her voice returned " — and it just sort of swung." She put her hand on the bottom right hand corner of the frame it was able to push it to reveal a round hole that seemed to descend.

"This is it," said Alia, triumphantly. "The Plunderer's Eye is down there."

"How do you know?" asked Travis. "I don't think you would have jumped down there."

"Travis, _honestly!_" said Alia. "_Think about it!_ This is obviously not going to take you to the kitchens. It's too dark and too much like a tunnel. The secret passages here are a bit more...sophisticated. This floor has been destroyed by someone who seems the type to want to get the Plunderer's eye, and this is the only passageway we don't know where it goes. I asked Peragu; he's never heard of this passageway."

"Well, it seems a little too easy to get in though," said Travis. "Snape tore this place apart. Do you think there is the slightest chance he didn't check behind this old bat?"

"_Bats foretell the comings of great illnesses_," said Aunt Sibyll.

"Shut up!" said Alia. "Travis! Believe me. The Plunderer's Eye is down there. We better keep an eye on Snape to make sure he doesn't come up here to try and steal it or very bad and grim things will happen."

Alia turned on her heel and walked out of the corridor.

"_The Grim, my dears, is an omen of death!_"

"SHUT UP!"

Terry, Travis, and Alia's exams were difficult indeed. Professor Grubbly-Plank had them write an essay on hex deflection. They had to pick the proper diet for a Venemous Tentacula for Professor Budman. A paper on Medieval dueling was required from Professor Elnota.

The next day, Professor Dannersham made them write about incomplete Transfiguration. Professor Granger had them write a paper on the theory of Levitation Charms. Snape had them brew up a Forgetfulness Potion while he swept between them and staring into their cauldrons with disapproving eyes. That night at Midnight, they went up to the Astronomy Tower to stare though some telescopes and write down some constellations.

Friday, the last day of testing, consisted only two practical exams. Transfiguration was alright. They had to turn mice into snuffboxes. Alia was able to turn her large white mouse into an ornate snuffbox while Travis' still had whiskers. He lost points for this. Professor Granger had them make a pineapple tapdance across a desk. And then...they were done.

Terry, Travis, and Alia wouldn't have to deal with final exams again for another Year. They spent the rest of the afternoon outside by the lake with Natasha, Gary, and Peragu, just laughing, joking, and talking. Flick flew down from a Ravenclaw Tower window and joined them. Natasha and Flick took a liking to each other immediately. They splashed a bit in the lake and the combined forces of Terry, Travis, Alia, Natasha, and Peragu were able to toss Gary, who was reluctant to get wet, into the lake. He emerged sopping wet and with bits of lake weed dangling from his arm.

They went up to the common room and sat in front of the aqua-colored fire. Terry made a whistling noise to try and summon Midnight...but no one came down the boys' staircase.

Terry walked up to the staircase and yelled up, "Midnight! You up there!"

"I haven't seen her lately," said Alia. "I wonder where she is."

Then, Davis and Benjamin came down the staircase. "Is some one hurt or something? Who was yelling?" asked Davis.

"It was me, Davis," said Terry. "Have either of you seen my cat?"

"No, sorry, mate," said Benjamin. "Haven't seen her."

They stepped off the stairs and strode across the common room and left through the owl statue passageway.

The three of them split up and searched every floor. Alia took the dungeons, ground, and first floor. Terry searched the second, third, and fourth while Travis ferreted around the fifth, sixth, and seventh. None of them found one thing in the nine levels of the castle.

Terry felt half awake the next couple of days. After Midnight left, he felt like she had taken away his alertness and willing to do anything active along with her as baggage. Whether Terry, Travis, and Alia were dueling, pigging out on sweets, chatting, pigging out on sweets, flying around the grounds on brooms, or pigging out on sweets; nothing felt the same to Terry. I had loved that cat dearly, and he wasn't willing to accept her disappearance.

The day before the exam grades were due to be released was Travis' birthday. Terry had bought him a pack of Self-Shuffling Exploding Snap cards that made popping noises when they were shuffled and Alia had gotten him a tiny glass model of a wand that emitted tiny crystalline sparks when ever it was touched with a wand.

Still with no sign of Midnight, Thursday approached. Professor Granger moved down the aisles and distributed tiny leaflets with the grades printed on them. She handed Terry's to him with a smile and moved on to give Travis and Alia their's.

"What'd you get, Terry?" asked Travis, looking on to Terry's paper.

Terry read:

Terrence Ollivander

Transfiguration-E

Charms-O

Herbology-E

History of Magic-A

Astronomy- E

Defense Against -O

the Dark Arts

Potions-A

"Reasonably good," said Terry. He was surprised he had passed Potions. He was sure that Snape would have found someway to funk him, but Terry guess he had been marked down a bit.

Next to Travis, Alia was reading her grades out loud.

"Hmm, let's see," she said. "Transfiguration: 'O.' Charms: 'O.' Herbology: 'O.' History of Magic: 'E.' Astronomy: 'E.' Defense Against the Dark Arts: 'E.' And...Potions..." Alia made a sort of squeak. "'P!' 'P' for Poor! That no good...!"

"Well, you and he never really hit it off," said Travis. "What did you expect?"

Just then, Ethilina took that time to say loudly, "I knew that I would get an 'O' in Potions. It's all who you know and Professor Snape and my father are old friends!"

"I hate her," said Alia. "She's just bitter because of the Quidditch Cup. Slytherin lost every match they played."

The students now had a week to do anything they wanted to do without the burden of studying and classes. Monday, Terry, Travis and Alia rounded up some fellow Quidditch players and had an unofficial broom racing tournament. Terry beat James Potter, Logan Renfield beat Travis, Alia beat Natasha, and Marigold beat Lilly Williand. Then, Terry beat Logan and Alia beat Marigold. The final match was the longest one yet. The others would be a race just around the Quidditch pitch, but this match was a race around the entire grounds. Terry and Alia raced over the lake, around the castle, and back into the Quidditch pitch. In the end, Alia flew back first and Terry was left in the dust.

Tuesday was a bore...there was nothing to do. The biggest excitement of the day was learning about James Potter having to scrub the bedpans in the hospital wing because he let off a Dungbomb in the dungeons. But, Wednesday, Terry, Travis, and Alia decided to visit the library to research some more dueling techniques. The library was deserted; no other students even thought of learning after the term ended.

Alia had found a new hex she wanted to learn. When she opened the book something interrupted her studying. Something that sounded scary and worried.

"ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THEIR DORMITORIES IMMEDIATELY! TEACHERS, COME TO THE THIRD FLOOR," echoed Professor Granger's voice. It was shaken and broke a couple of times.

"What do you reckon is going on?" asked Travis.

"I dunno," said Terry. "Want to find out?"

They put their stuff up and exited the library after Mr Fulton. They ran in front of him down the stairs and were able to slip into the third floor unnoticed. They hid in the deserted Charms classroom and all pressed an ear to a crack in the door.

Hurried footsteps grew louder and entered the third floor corridor.

"What's going on, Hermione?" asked Professor Budman voice.

Professor Granger was sobbing.

"It's horrible! Horrible!" she wailed.

"Tell us what's the matter," said a the voice of a wizard they didn't know.

"Yes, tell us," said Professor Dannersham.

More footsteps, slower and calmer could be heard now. Along with the footsteps, the sweeping of a long cloak.

"What is this about, Hermione?" asked the calm voice of Professor Potter.

"Harry!' Professor Granger exclaimed. "It's James! James has been taken."

Terry had to stamp on Alia's foot. She had gasped loudly and he didn't want to be discovered eavesdropping on a bunch of teachers having a private conversation.

"How do you know?" asked Professor Potter, now urgent and short. "What makes you think this?"

"I was going to go pay a visit to Cavusa and — and —" she sniffed "there was a note posted on the infirmary doors. Horrible...written in what looked like — blood. 'I have your little Mr Potter. Don't follow,' it said. "They have James, Harry! THEY HAVE JAMES!"

Professor Granger cried some more. Two sets of footsteps were heard again and Professor Budman and Madam Soan were saying comforts to her. The footsteps were heard again and then their was a groan of a chair; Professor Budman and Madam Soan had forced Professor Granger to sit down.

"Is all our number present?" asked Professor Potter.

"Hmm, let me see," said the voice of Professor Elnota. "We're missing Cavusa, of course, and...oh...where's Severus?"

"I expect he'll be along. Heads of house: go alert your students. Others, go and wait in your offices until further notice. Hermione, I think we should go and write the Ministry."

The crowd left with a loud amount of noise. Terry, Travis, and Alia didn't move until the sounds of Professor Granger's sobs had vanished from earshot. When they had, they opened the door and entered the corridor.

"James...I don't believe it. James..." said Alia, just staring forward. "James, of all people."

"I blame Snape for this!" said Travis. "He's obviously done this! Who else?"

"I know where Snape went," said Terry. "He's probably up on the seventh floor trying to get the Plunderer's Eye. He's holding James hostage so that no one will come after him because if they just start throwing spells at Snape they could hit James, the scum!"

"We have to go after him! No one knows it's him. You heard Potter. He just thought Snape was running late," said Alia.

"But, we're not even sure it's Snape! We're not even sure that's where the Plunderer's Eye is!" said Travis, throwing his hands in the air. " We could climb down that tunnel, get hurt, get down to the bottom, and find that's where Potter keeps his spare robes!"

"Come on, Travis! Do you want to sit here and let Snape take the Plunderer's Eye and take James fine by me. I'm going!" Alia turned around and stomped away. Terry and Travis exchanged quizzical looks and followed her.

Back in the common room, Terry went up to his truck in the boys' dormitory and grabbed the Masker Fraton had given him for Christmas. He might need it.

Terry came down and noticed that everyone looked solemn and distraught. Madam Soan had obviously been by to tell the Ravenclaws of James' fate. By the owl statue hole, a couple of second Years were sitting with their cheeks in their hands and their elbows resting on their knees.

"Oh, great! How are we supposed to get by them?" asked Alia under her breath.

An idea struck Terry. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at a pile of books.

"_Unofruor_," he said. The books all started to read themselves aloud and Alia and Travis were able to charm them to fly around the common room. People leapt up, trying to avoid the mad books and when pandemonium had broken out, Terry, Travis, and Alia slipped through the owl statue hole.

Even though it only took ten minutes to get to the seventh floor, it felt like ten hours to Terry, Travis, and Alia. They were the only ones who knew about Snape's plan to take the Plunderer's Eye and their were the only ones who knew he had James with him. Terry was amazed to find the corridors and staircases deserted. The three of them didn't see one living person (excluding Lady Anguia, who is in fact not living) their entire way up the Grand Staircase.

They finally reached the door to the seventh floor corridor and opened it slowly. It creaked something terrible, like a giant crow cawing at dusk, warning them to stay away. But, they couldn't stay away. One of their friends was in trouble, and the entire wizarding world might be in trouble if they didn't stop Snape.

"_Good, evening, my dears,_" said the portrait of Aunt Sibyll. "_I fear that my Inner Eye has foretold me that those who have been lurking around in the middle of the night, are going to meet a most unpleasant —_ "

"Yeah, Yeah, cut the small talk," said Alia, moving Aunt Sibyll out of the way of the hole. When the dark tunnel appeared, all Terry, Travis, and Alia could do was stare at it. Just stare. Nothing more. It was Alia who spoke first.

"Who wants to go first?" asked Alia, looking at her two comrades.

"I don't," said Travis. "Snape would finish me off in a second."

"I'll go," said Terry, stepping forward. "I'll disguise myself with the Masker. If you hear something like me getting hurt, go tell Potter. Tell him everything. He might be able to stop Snape if I can't."

He pulled the gelatinous gooey thing out of his pocket and stuck it to his face with an odd squelching noise. "_Professor Potter_," said Terry.

Terry's body elongated, making him taller. His hair turned jet black and started to grow very untidy. An odd pickling feeling was creeping along his forehead; Professor Potter's lightning bolt scar was forming. Like it had with Fraton, his vision became blurred and out of focus. He was the spitting image of Professor Potter.

"See you," he said, and he climbed up into the hole. He situated himself so he was lying on his back and used his arms to propel himself down the chute.

Left and right, left and right, Terry swayed back and forth in the round tube shooting downward towards Snape and the Plunderer's Eye. The slope of the tunnel started out quite level, but soon, it started to get more and more vertical until, at one moment, Terry was falling instead of sliding. The wind was passing his face and his hair was flying like whips flying from his head.

Suddenly, the darkness turned to a faint grayish glow and Terry landed with a thud on a hard, stone floor. The Masker flew off his face and landed over by James. He got up unsteadily and tripped on his robes. He stood up and had the shock of his life.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Thing That Professor Potter Hadn't Expected

Seven square indentations in the wall with a shiny round sphere in each were giving off an odd glow in the circular room. The crumpled body of James Potter was left forgotten on the floor, lit up eerily by the spheres. A tall, cloaked figure was standing to the right of Terry, inspecting one of the indentations.

"How good of you to join me, Mr Ollivander," said a voice that certainly wasn't Snape's. It was higher, more feminine, and colder than Terry had ever heard it. Though they were cloaked, Terry knew now who was trying to steal the Plunderer's Eye.

"Professor Ferrotte?" asked Terry in disbelief. "No! It's can't be! Snape...he..."

"Foolish of you to suspect Severus," said Ferrotte, taking the hood of her cloak off her head. "He may look the part, but he really is kind...the perfect person to pin this little heist on."

"But...you've been insane the last term!" screamed Terry. "And what did you do to James! Why's he like this?"

Ferrotte chuckled, an insane and cold laugh.

"Yes, yes. Our dear headmaster's son came in very handy getting down here. You see...it wasn't easy."

Terry stood there, rooted to the spot. This was a very unlikely turn of events. The person whom Terry thought was evil was innocent and the victim of the mock-criminal turned out to be crooked and maniacal.

Ferrotte approached him and stopped right in front of him. She pulled out her wand and aimed it threateningly at Terry's throat.

She continued.

"My Master has been in exile for twenty long Years. He was diminished to something not alive nor dead, not mortal nor ghost, not man nor beast. He hasn't even been a being. He's been a sort of...memory. A fragment of one's imagination and soul. He was able to keep himself existing by resting...and dwelling in the homes of Dark wizards who have all been willing to let him stay in phials of reviving potions helped too. That was enough for a while.

"Soon, he didn't have anything to gain or lose. He was a stronger memory, though. He had a sort of physical form. It was nothing anyone had ever seen or been. It was a monster to end all monsters. It was a ghostly white miniature figure with no face or feet. Just a potato with a head and two sticks for arms. He was soon able to hold a wand. Thus, I was created. For you see, young Ollivander, I am not human. But, I will not bore you with that story.

"I came to this school at the beginning of first term. The headmaster had no clue why I was really here. I was trying to locate the Plunderer's Eye for my Master. You do know what the Plunderer's Eye is, don't you?"

Terry nodded.

"Good, good. I didn't want to have to explain it. So, you know what it is. Do you know why my Master wants it?"

Terry shook his head.

"Oh, and I thought you would have done this properly. I will tell you, then. We have time. The headmaster doesn't know we're here. The Plunderer's Eye, as you most certainly know, started out as a tool to catch criminals. It was a bad egg and started to help those it was designed to betray. It soon convinced the other six Eyes to help it when the Ministry fools tried to destroy it. The Healer's eye contributed it's powers to it." Ferrotte pointed to the green sphere. "The Plunderer's Eye soon was able to Heal any wound, including death. Now do you get it, Ickle Ollivander?"

Terry just stared at her. Did he get what?

"Apparently, you don't. My Master needs the Plunderer's Eye to survive. If he uses the Plunderer's Eye, he will become a living thing again and if he keeps it with him, he'll be immortal. Now you get it.

"But, getting to this point was difficult. The first day of first term, I searched a couple of floors. I took on the third, nothing, the fifth, noting, but I eventually heard the Plunderer's Eye's voice up on the seventh floor. But then, I met something that I had a feeling would cause a hindrance. You and Norron and Clavereaux and Strifle showed up on the seventh floor right as I had found where the Eye was. I showed you kindness and told you how to get to the first floor, but that wasn't the last I saw you.

"Some time in late September, I was going to try and get into the seventh floor again. I cloaked myself and left my classroom on the first floor. On the way up, I see you. This is when I knew you were destined to meddle. I attempted to do away with you, but I made too much noise. I was able to knock you out and ran back to the first floor, deposited my cloak, and gave myself an alibi by coming and taking you to the hospital wing.

"Then, on Halloween, I tried once more. I was able to make my up to the seventh floor cleanly. When I searched the floor, I found the Plunderer's Eye. Behind the portrait of the Seer Sibyll Trelawney. When I tried to move it aside, I learned that Potter had bewitched it with some protective magic. I burned my wrist trying to move it. I left in a hurry after that.

"At this point, some of the teachers suspected me. I had to throw them off, so I faked going mad. I framed it on Snape, as if he was attacking me. It worked. I received sympathy from my co-workers. But, how to get up here? I deduced that Potter had used on old safety measure from his old friend Albus Dumbledore. It is summed up in one sentence: 'Those who wanted to find it but not use it would be able to get it.' Yes, it is an ancient magic that has protected few things.

"So, how to get past it? I was able to kidnap James Potter. I told him I wanted to get the Eye and what I was going to do with it. Of course, he didn't want to use it and he wanted to get it to keep it from me. He was able to get me in and I had no use for him. I hit him with a nicely done Stunner Spell and here I am."

Terry stood there.

"Why are you telling me this? I could always yell up to my friends and tell them to go get Potter," said Terry. This was all confusing.

"Well, yes, you could do that. But you see, if you did, I would be forced to dispose of you and young Mr Potter." Ferrotte made a sort of flick with her wand and a bulb of green light lit up the end of her wand. Se waved it in a tiny circle and said something very quietly. The green light left the wand with a rushing sound and in a jet. It barely missed Terry's left ear and he felt a cold wind by it.

"One more thing: Do you know who my Master is?" asked Ferrotte.

"No, I don't. Like most people at this school, I don't like to keep up with my Dark wizards," said Terry.

"Be careful, Ollivander," said Ferrotte in a sort of sing-song voice. "That cheek won't get you far in a good direction, but you are right. You do not know my Master? No, I didn't think you would. He possess the name people still don't like to speak. He is a symbol of the yew tree...death and rebirth. Yes, my Master is one who was once called Tom Riddle. Now, young Ollivander, tell me, have you ever heard of Lord Voldemort?"

Terry felt a pang of familiarity. His father had spoke of Voldemort on platform nine and three quarters when Ethilina had knocked Terry out of the way.

"Yes, I have. So, that's the crowd you hang around, eh?" asked Terry.

"My, my, Ollivander. You are quite more boisterous than I remember you in class. A good virtue to possess, but not here. Keep your mouth nice and shut or you will find yourself in an even worse situation.

"Most believed my Lord to be vanquished. But, there is something Professor Potter hadn't expected. There was a prophecy foretelling the futures of the Dark Lord and Potter. It told that neither could live unless one of them killed the other. Potter and my Lord dueled and my Lord came off worse. He fled without Potter knowing. Potter has been thinking that his nemesis has been permanently gone, but he isn't. The thing that Potter didn't know is that the prophecy was incomplete. In the art of Divination, sometimes, prophecies can be told and has to be finished by a Seeing relative. At the moment, no one knows who that is."

"So, now what? You've spilled your guts. I guess I will tottle back up the passage way and tell my friends all about this?" asked Terry, coldly.

"Oh no," said Ferrotte. "I will have to kill you." She said this so casually that it sounded as though this was something she did on a rainy day as a hobby.

Terry pulled out his wand. Here is when dueling practice would come in handy. Ferrotte pulled out her wand and screamed "_Crucio!_"

An unbelievable amount of pain rushed through Terry's veins. He screamed loudly and fell to all fours on the ground. He was breathing in an almost panting breath. He felt sick and light headed and weak. He was afraid he was going to collapse.

"Had enough, little Ollivander?" asked Ferrotte, caressing her wand.

Then, what Terry was hoping they wouldn't do, Terry heard Alia holler down.

"I'm coming down! Travis has gone for help!"

"Oh, don't! Go with Travis!" yelled Terry. But, too late. A moment later, a figure fell from the hole and Alia landed next to him.

"Has Snape hurt you?" she asked getting up. She saw Ferrotte and gasped. "You!"

"Yes, Clavereaux, me. How nice of you to drop in. But, it is rude to just come in unannounced. I must teach you some manners."

She pointed her wand at Alia. But, Alia was too quick for her. Before Ferrotte could say anything, Alia screamed, "_Iflictumper!_"

Ferrotte was hit full force in the chest and was thrown back, hitting the wall space between a crimson and an electric blue spheres. Ferrotte pointed her wand at Alia and got up. Then, she growled, "_Stupify!_"Alia was hit in the head, landed on the floor, and didn't move.

"Alia!" yelled Terry, running over to her unconscious body. "Alia, speak to me!"

"Don't have your girlfriend fight your battles for you, Ollivander," said Ferrotte, slyly. "It isn't noble. Come on, defend her and Mr Potter and our headmaster. Come at me."

"Alia isn't my girlfriend!" screamed Terry. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ferrotte. He made a couple steps backwards. There was a loud SNAP! of wood and Terry looked down. He had trodden on Alia's wand and had broken it clean in two.

"Oh, cwumsy wittle Owivander bwoke ickle Cwaverweaux's wandie," said Ferrotte in a mock baby voice. "She won't be too happy, you know."

"Shut up!" yelled Terry as loud as he could. He pointed his wand directly at Ferrotte and yelled, "_Flipendo!_"

"_Protego!_" said Ferrotte. The spell hit her wand and rebounded on Terry. He ducked and he felt a warmth graze his back.

"You can't beat me, Ollivander. My Master has given me every power that any wizard can possess. Did you really think that a first-Year student just learning how to levitate feathers could beat the power of Lord Voldemort? Foolish you are, Ollivander. The Dark Lord has accumulated his power over a span of one hundred Years! Something as weak as a eleven-Year-old wizard cannot beat him!"

"_Tarantallegra!_" yelled Terry. Professor Ferrotte used the Shield Charm again and the spell shot back at Terry. He jumped aside and it barely missed him. He landed on the ground with a fump.

"I'm getting tired of this game of cat and mouse. Shall I prolong your murder so you suffer or quick and clean?"

Terry thought hard. How could he get passed her. She was too quick. It used all of his wit, but how could he form a good plan in a moment with so much stress and adrenaline running through him? Then, like two trains, two different facts rampaged into each other on the train tacks of Terry's mind. Ferrotte had said that she wasn't human. Did that make her a creature? A _Dark_ creature. It was worth a shot. It might work.

Terry stood up to his full height. He was erecting his posture and he aimed his chin up.

"Have you made your decision. If you have, then can you pick the way Miss Clavereaux and Mr Potter go, too?" asked Ferrotte.

"Yes," he lied. "I want to do it nice and quick. But, can you do me a favor?" asked Terry.

"Make it quick."

"Can you kill us all together? As a group?" Terry pretended to look scared and nervous. But, he had a planning forming and frothing and spinning around in his head.

"A group killing? Never done one of those. Sure, why not? Should be fun." He waved her hand, telling Terry to go get the corpses of Alia and James. Terry got up and pulled dragged James and Alia to one spot where he stood over them. His wand was out, but Ferrotte was so eager to kill him, she didn't notice.

"I'm ready," said Terry. He gulped.

"Good. On the count of three. One — two — "

A weird noise echoed in the room. It was a noise that was coming from the round hole in the ceiling Terry and Alia had come down. It was started to grow louder.

"What is that?" asked Ferrotte.

"MMMMEEERRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Something gray fell from the hole and landed directly onto Ferrotte's head. She fell, screaming.

"Get this thing off me!" screeched Ferrotte.

This was Terry's chance. He pointed his wand at Ferrotte and she was able to point hers at him.

"_Stupify! Stupify!_" screamed Ferrotte.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" yelled Terry, thinking back to August when he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter and what Hogwarts implied: Travis, Alia, Quidditch, and magic.

Something furry flew out of Terry's wand. This time, the image was sharper, more defined. But, before Terry could see what it was, the two Stunners hit him head-on in the temple. He collapsed onto the floor as, from what he could see, Ferrotte started to shrink as the gray figure and the silver figure kept it pinned to the floor.

Terry opened his eyes. The room around him was blurry and there was no definite end of the colors; they just collided and mixed. He sat up and realized he was sitting in a rather firm bad. He closed his eyes tight, opened them again, and then everything came into clearer focus.

Dozen beds against two walls; two of them taken up by occupants, smiling portraits everywhere, and a woman with a long brown ponytail was making up the bed farthest from Terry. His bedside table was piled high with sweets. There was only one place he could be: the hospital wing.

At a better glance at the other two hospital mates, Terry noticed that they were Alia and James. Alia was sleeping, but Terry could hear her breathes, slow and steady. James was awake and was reading the _Daily Prophet_. Madam Treaten stood up and looked at Terry.

"Good morning, Mr Ollivander. Good to see you awake," she said, coming over to him. She made him open his mouth and took his temperature by pressing the back of her hand to his forehead while talking absent-mindedly to him.

"I have never seen the likes of it. Three students in my care because of a teacher! Despicable! How could Harry have hired such a crooked woman, I ask you! Well, you seem alright, Ollivander." She got up and went and checked on Alia, who remained asleep. She still spoke over her shoulder to him.

"This was the second time you've been here because of Stunners, so I was worried your defenses would be low. Mrs Clavereaux is fine, too. Well, I'll let you have your rest. I'll be in my office."

She made her normal hurried way back to her office. James put down his newspaper and looked at Terry.

"I don't believe it," he said. "Not a word about this in the _Prophet_. I still don't believe it. The most exciting thing in there was about some old bloke in Wales injured a Leaky Cauldron waitress because he thought that his drink smelled funny and it turned out to be a new wine the Leaky Cauldron was trying out. Said he was an Ex-Auror. Go figure."

James looked very healthy. This was proven when he got up and walked around. James pulled a chair up to Terry's bedside and he brought his own pile of sweets over and set it on Terry's bed. The two of them talked and ate their candy with laughs. At one point, James said he had to use the lavatory. He went to the doors to the first floor corridor, but before he could get to them, they opened. James' father came striding in. He nodded to James as he passed him and he made his way to Terry.

"Good morning, Terry," said Professor Potter.

"Good morning, Professor," replied Terry. Professor Potter took James' chair and just looked at Terry. It was awkward.

"I'm sure you have some questions, Terry. I know that I certainly do, myself. Now, if there are any questions, please feel free to ask."

"Well, I was wondering if it is true that prophecies can sometimes be fractional?" asked Terry.

"I suppose. Most certainly if the Seer is interrupted," said Professor Potter. "Why? That isn't the type of question I expected."

"Well, Ferrotte –- "

"_Professor _Ferrotte, Terry," corrected Professor Potter.

"Oh, sorry. Professor Ferrotte said that a prophecy involving you and Voldemort wasn't complete. It had to be finished by the Seer's family member. She said that Voldemort has recently learned that it wasn't."

Professor Potter looked surprised.

"Are you telling me, Terry, that Voldemort is still alive?" asked Professor Potter. "That's something I hadn't expected. I couldn't have known. It's just not pleasant to know that Voldemort is probably gaining power as we speak."

"Yeah, Professor Ferrotte said that the prophecy must be finished by a blood relative of the original Seer," said Terry.

"Then, I think I must know who they are. I will be watching them closely. Anymore questions?" asked Professor Potter with a smile.

"Actually, I do. What happened after I passed out down where the Eyes?" asked Terry.

"Well, I don't know when you passed out, but it couldn't have been long before I got down there because I saw your Patronus. That was a powerful Patronus. It was able to reveal Professor Ferrotte's real form: a weasel. I was able to throw your Patronus off her and I literally sacked the weasel. I then carried you, Miss Clavereaux, and James up the hole. The Eyes have been Confunded with a Confundus Charm and they have been put into a proper frame of mind. They have also been locked up in the Department of Mysteries for further study."

"So, they shouldn't be of any danger anymore?" asked Terry.

"None I can speak of at the moment. I think it will be kept perfectly safe. But now, Lord Voldemort will try and think of another way to regain strength...and...he will succeed.

"I trust there are more questions," said Professor Potter.

"One: Who is the relative of the original Seer?" asked Terry.

"I can't tell you that, Terry. I'm sorry. You will learn eventually, though. But, until then, sit tight. Keep your mind on your school work and your friends and family." Professor Potter frowned. He stood up and reached into his robes. He pulled out something familiarly gooey and wiggly: Terry's Masker.

"I found it down in the Chamber of the Eyes. I thought you might want it returned. Why did you bring it, anyway?" asked Professor Potter.

Terry told him that he had planned as masquerading as Professor Potter to make Ferrotte (who he thought was Snape at the moment) forfeit and how it fell off his face when he landed on in the chamber.

"I see," said Professor Potter. "That was quite clever. I see why the Sorting Hat put you in Ravenclaw. Not to mention how you deduced Professor Ferrotte was a dark creature and used a Patronus. Very smart, indeed. I should say a good fifty points to Ravenclaw for your genius. Now, I must be off. But, you have two visitors."

Professor Potter almost looked as though he was gliding while walking over to the double doors. Travis came in along with the fluffy form of Midnight in his arms.

"Travis! Midnight! Where did you find her?" asked Terry sitting up even straighter. Travis handed him Midnight who purred loudly.

"She turned up the day you were sent here. She just came up and started meowing at the owl statue just right out of the blue. She just...turned up," said Travis.

"Ah, cats. How smart they are," said Professor Potter, walking back over to Terry. "Professor Granger had one when she was at school here. Rotten thing it was. I soon grew to like it. Helped a friend of mine expose a criminal. And I know a few other cats who have helped people out of sticky situations." He scratched Midnight's back and she closed her eyes.

All the noise in the room has awoken Alia. She sat up in her bed and Midnight leapt to her.

"Well, I'll let you all get reacquainted. I really have some business to attend to." He strode to the door and left.

"So, what did I miss?" asked Alia. Terry filled her in on what happened in the Chamber of the Eyes and what Ferrotte had said.

"Who was the original Seer?" asked Travis. "Did Potter say?"

"No, he didn't," said Terry. "I guess it doesn't really apply to us."

James Potter showed up not much later and all four of them had fun just being themselves and eating candy. Midnight purred the entire time until Madam Treaten (who had been told by Professor Potter to let Midnight stay) told them they could go after one last test on Alia.

The last few days of term went by in a flash. Terry, Travis, and Alia spent most of their time by the lake because they couldn't duel. (Alia had no way to defend herself.)

The extra points to Ravenclaw that had been awarded to Terry had jumped Ravenclaw from third to second place behind Slytherin; ten points behind Slytherin. The end of Year feast was to be held on the last Saturday of the Year.

The Great Hall was decked out green and silver banners and the torches even seemed to give of bilious and sickly light. Most of the teachers up at the staff table looked indifferent about the decorations but Professors Granger, Budman, and Soan (who were all head of houses) looked a little rankled by the sudden ornamental addition. Snape was sitting in his seat looking down at all the students with pleasure and malice written on his face and his smerk.

Terry, Travis, and Alia sat down with the other disappointed Ravenclaws and looked up at the staff table. Professor Potter stood up and the hall fell to be silent as the grave in a snap. Professor Potter opened his hands to the school and said:

"Once again, we reach the end of another eventful Year. And the house points stand thus: Hufflepuff with three hundred-ninety-two points, Gryffindor has four hundred-thirty-six points, Ravenclaw with four hundred-fifty-nine points, and Slytherin with four hundred-sixty-nine points!" As the houses were called, the students and teachers gave polite applause and it got louder when the house was called. When Slytherin was called, there was barely any applause except from the teachers and Slytherins.

"Well done, Slytherin! But, I am sorry to say, we have forgotten to add the points won from the last Quidditch game. Ravenclaw had beaten Hufflepuff by ten points so ten points to Ravenclaw." Tiny blue sapphires flew down from the upper bulb of the Ravenclaw hourglass that recorded the house points.

"And, since Ravenclaw won the Quidditch Cup, I think another thirty points is to be awarded." More sapphires fell down. Ravenclaw was now twenty points higher than Slytherin meaning:

"Ravenclaw wins the House Cup!" yelled Professor Potter. The green turned to blue, the serpents turned to eagles, and frowns turned to smiles.

The Ravenclaws all jumped up and down and screamed with excitement. Hats were thrown and people were hugged. Alia threw herself onto Terry and Travis and kissed them both on the cheek. Madam Soan was smiling in her normal broad way and hugged Professor Granger who was shooting a piercing look at Snape.

Professor Potter caught Terry's eye and winked. Mrs Irriate had left the Great Hall doors open and the sound must have carried up to the Ravenclaw common room because Midnight came down and found Terry. She leapt into his arms and tried to get onto the table to eat some chicken legs. Right then, Terry felt the happiest he had the entire time he had gotten his Hogwarts letter which is saying something.

After the feast, Terry, Travis, and Alia had to pack all their belongings. They would be leaving the following morning. Terry had his robes, books, broom, and Masker all packed away so he went downstairs to join Travis and Alia.

The end of the Year gloom was most apparent at the blue fireside because of the ghostly light the flames were casting on everyone. Alia was playing with Flick and Travis was doing a bit of last minute spellwork before he had to leave and not be able to use magic for two months.

"All packed?" asked Alia.

"Yeah, I think so," said Terry. "Only thing not in a box is Midnight. And Alia, I must apologize again for your wand."

"Don't worry about it, Terry," said Alia. "I can come to London and get a new one from your dad. I got my old one from Summers Brothers back in Georgia. I must admit they do make fragile wands."

"Alia," said Terry. "You may not get it. It doesn't matter how fragile it is; I stepped on it."

"Not all wands do that," said Alia. "I had an aunt who broke her neck because she slipped on her sisters wand."

Like the last time they boarded the Hogwarts Express, the students put all their trucks by the front doors and went into the Great Hall for breakfast. Terry, Travis, and Alia didn't eat much in their depression of leaving the only place they had had the time of their lives.

At ten thirty, they boarded the horseless carriages and rode on down to the train station in the village. By eleven o'clock, the Hogwarts Express was filled to capacity and rolling along the tracks toward Kings Cross station and platform nine and three-quarters.

Terry, Travis, Alia, and Natasha had taken to playing a made-up magical game in which one person would play charades to make the other players guess what spell they were acting out and use the spell. Terry won. He guessed correctly five times.

Midnight purred the full length of the trip and seemed more attracted to Terry than she had ever been. She would insist on sitting in Terry's lap and when he tried to move her aside, she would just waddle back and sit right back down.

Halfway through the ride, the sliding doors slid open to reveal a blonde haired menace.

"Hello, Ollivander," said Ethilina Malfoy from the doorway.

"Shove off, Ethilina," said Terry, not looking up from the Wizards Chess game he was playing with Travis.

"How does it feel to have your name known again? In the action again, are we?" asked Ethilina, still persistent.

"Go pet a bubotuber," said Alia, giving Ethilina an evil look. "Terry didn't exactly ask to be attacked and he was just committing an act of service when he saved James, which is more than you would have done."

"I just came to warn you, Ollivander," said Ethilina. "Keep interfering, and you just might regret it. So, watch your step around the Dark side of magic."

Ethilina slid the door closed and they didn't see Ethilina the rest of the voyage.

"What was that about?" asked Natasha. "What did she mean?"

"Well, I've heard that her family used to be Dark wizards. Maybe it's connected," said Terry.

"She said 'interfere,'" said Alia. "Usually, that means to meddle in something someone else was doing and try and stop them doing it. I bet the Malfoys were behind all the things that happened. The Malfoys is probably attempting to revive Lord Voldemort and Ferrotte was their creation."

"I dunno about that," said Terry, "but I don't want to have to deal with that for three months."

The train pulled into the familiar station and all the students stepped down onto the platform.

"I must have you over to stay this summer," said Alia, locating her luggage. "I now have a wand missing so I'd be able to come pick you up, Terry. We can pick up down somewhere, too, Travis. So, I'll see you this summer, I hope."

The hugged Terry and Travis and wheeled her luggage to her parents who had come to meet her on the platform.

Terry and Travis wheeled their luggage cart through the barrier and into the Muggle world.

"I'll see you in the summer, it sounds like," said Terry. "Until then." He shook Travis' hand and departed to join Mr Ollivander, Mrs Ollivander, and Fraton, who had all come to greet him.

"Hello, darling!" said his mother and embraced him.

"Afternoon, bro!" said Fraton with a greeting salute. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," said Terry.

His father took over moving Terry's cart for him. So, with all of his family members behind him, the restaurant in front of him, one school Year over, and a new one to begin, Terry moved toward a summer, Terry felt, a better summer than he had ever had.


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

Regret

Harry Potter had liven a miserable life for the first ten Years of his life. His parents had died when he was only a Year old and he had gone to live with his horrible relatives, the Dursleys.

On his eleventh birthday, he recieved a letter telling him he'd be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he met his best friend, Ron Weasley. Ron had come from an all wizard family so he was able to show Harry the ropes of magic. His other friend, Hermione Granger, was a book-knowledge-filled girl who always got the top grades. She had been born to Muggles, non-magical people, so this was her first encounter with magic.

Harry was famous at Hogwarts because of one thing: He didn't die. He and his family were attacked by a Dark wizard called Voldemort, who some know as Tom Marvolo Riddle. There was only one Killing Curse known to wizard-kind and it had finished off many more advanced wizards, including Harry's parents, Lilly and James Potter. But, when Voldemort turned his wand to Harry, who was just a baby, the spell rebounded upon Voldemort and he fled, the power he had spent fifty Years gathering gone.

He had come face to face with Voldemort in his first and second Years at Hogwarts. In his third Year, a servant of Voldemort who had been thought dead, was discovered and went back to Voldemort without blowing his cover.

In Harry's fourth Year, he saw Voldemort once more. He had killed a fellow student and was brought back to full power. Harry had nightmares about it for months. Then, Voldemort tried to lure Harry out of school in his fifth Year to make him retrieve a prophecy that foretold Harry's birth for Voldemort did not know the whole thing, just the first half. They prophecy was destroyed in the act of Voldemort trying to grab hold of it. However, Harry was able to here the prophecy from the only living soul who heard, his headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._

This is why Voldemort attacked him.

In Harry's sixth Year, Harry met someone who was able to contribute his powers to him. He was known as the Half-Blood-Prince, also known as Godric Gryffindor, founder of Hogwarts and Gryffindor house. In Harry's seventh Year, his final Year at Hogwarts, he started to settle down and went steady with Hermione. At the end of this Year, Harry had vanquished Lord Voldemort.

When a wizard saves another wizard's life, it leaves a bond of debt from one to the other. The servant of Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed Voldemort and was able to pay Harry back. Harry and Voldemort shared a wand core substance (the tail feather of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes) so it was impossible for the two to duel. However, with Peter doing away with Voldemort, the job was done.

Harry and Hermione married and Harry got a job at the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, or Dark wizard catcher. Harry won an Order of Merlin, First Class for being the Auror who had caught the most Dark wizards than any other Auror, ever. After this he retired and started up his own association, the D.A. (or Defense Academy) where wizards could learn how to defend themselves against Dark wizards. Ron, who had become and Auror with him, was the first member to join. After this, Harry began work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He soon went through all the ranks and became Chief Warlock and also became a member of the International Confederation of Wizards.

Around this time, his two kids, Karinthia Potter (the eldest twin) and James (in name of Harry's father) were born. Both of the twins favored their older gender counterpart parent in looks.

Harry soon grew tired of the business life and retired from both committees. At this very same time, Professor Dumbledore had retired, also. Harry decided to enter the world of academics and took up the post of Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Harry had always considered Hogwarts his home. All the passageways, ghosts, classrooms, trick stairs, and weird happenings appealed to Harry so much. Now, he could formally call Hogwarts his home because now he lived there. Hermione took up a job as Charms teacher not long after were they reside now.

The day after his students had left, Harry walked around the castle for a little inspection that, he felt, was totally unnecessary, but liked to do it anyway. He had just had a some unfortunate things happen at Hogwarts and he was reflecting on them.

Harry had just been informed by a student that Lord Voldemort had regained power, something he hadn't expected to happen ever.

He had also told the student who had told him about Voldemort a lie. He was about to kick himself for it, but it was necessary. He didn't want the student worrying. It was a lot to handle, but he would discover soon enough. How could he not?

After checking the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tower common rooms, Harry went down to the kitchen corridor to check Hufflepuff.

Harry had written to the boy's family. They probably had their hunches about it, considering Sibyll has being Gloria's sister. Harry knew he should have told the boy, but like printed earlier, he didn't want him worrying. Next Year...maybe when he's older..

Harry frowned. He remembered when someone else had said that about him. "_You were too young, much too young_..." said a gruff and soothing voice in Harry's mind's eye. The man in question had held in the secret for all most six Years. Six long Years. Harry didn't want to have to do that. He would hold it in but not for six Years. Hopefully not more than two or three. He was regretting not telling him now, so imagine how upset he'd be if he postponed telling him long than he needed to.

He finished his search after inspecting the Slytherin dormitories and retreated to his office on the third floor.

"Weasley and Weasley's Skiving Snack Boxes!" he told a gargoyle. The gargoyle sprang to life and revealed a spiral staircase leading upwards. Harry climbed it and came to two doors with a griffin for a knocker. He opened them and came into the largest teacher's study in the whole of Hogwarts castle.

Dark detectors were on every inch of table, shelf, and even floor. A Foe-Glass stood hung on the wall with a form that had not been there the night before. Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors, and other such things were on Harry's desk. A silver basin with a strange sort of light coming from it was in a cupboard and other twinkling silver objects littered the room too. Two golden perches sat on either side of Harry's desk. On the left was a snowy owl by the name of Hedwig. Currently, she was sleeping. The other was a bird with red-and-gold plumage called Fawkes, who had once belonged to Albus Dumbledore.

Harry made his way to his large wooden desk and sat behind it. Both bird showed Harry their affection by a hoot from Hedwig and a soothing song from Fawkes. Harry stroked the both of the two flying creatures and sighed. Why hadn't he told Terry? He was regretting quicker than he thought he would.

The doors opened again and Hermione came in with a peeking head.

"Harry? May I come in?" asked Hermione. She came in anyway.

"Sure," said Harry. "Anything the matter?"

"No, not at all," said Hermione, shaking her head. "I just came to tell you that Monty has finished inspecting the grounds. Now, is anything the matter with you?"

Harry turned his head to a window and stayed silent, but his looks spoke louder than his words.

"Is it about Terry Ollivander?" asked Hermione. No answer. "Don't beat yourself up, Harry." Hermione went behind Harry's desk and put her hands on his shoulders. "I wouldn't have told him either. He's too young, much too young."

Harry closed his eyes, put his hands to his face, and set his elbows down on his desk.

"I just...didn't want him to get upset when I told him I postponed. I got so angry with Dumbledore...I didn't want that to happen with him. Terry's sort of grown on me."

"He has for me too, Harry. But he's too young," said Hermione. "He wouldn't be able to handle it. He would become to confused and worried and scared and excited all at the same time. Wait until he's matured a bit, then tell him."

"I will," said Harry, taking his face out of his hands. He looked at Fawkes, who looked back at him and made a sort of coo. "He'll be far too important in the end not to tell him."


End file.
